Fear the Dead, Fight the Living
by Hilaryh25
Summary: Phoebe Peletier grew up with a not so easy life, and in the world now it only gets harder but she finds love along the way and it keeps her grounded
1. Chapter 1

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

 **A/N: Okay I am way to obsessed with the Walking Dead lol so here is another story but this time it's Daryl/OC. I really do hope you enjoy, both positive and negative feedback are welcome.**

"It's late. They should've been back by now." Amy says as she paced back and forth at our camp while I sit with my little sister coloring with her

Just then the radio squawks, _"Hello, base camp! Can anybody out there hear me? Base camp, this is T-Dog. Anybody hear me?"_ We hear over the radio and Dale climbed up onto the roof of the RV

"Hello? Hello? Reception's bad on this end. Repeat. Repeat."

 _"Shane, is that you?"_ T-Dog asked

"Is that them?" Lori asked

"We're in some deep shit. We're trapped in the department store."

"He said they're trapped?" Shane asks

 _"There are geeks all over the place. Hundreds of 'em. We're surrounded."_

"Shit" I mumbled

"Language Phoebe" My mom says and I look at her, I'm 27 years old, former cop, yet she still treats me like a child

"Sorry mom." I said and my little sister smiled

"T-Dog, repeat that last. Repeat." Dale says into the radio but it stops

"He said the department store." Lori pointed out

"I heard it too." Dale says

"Shane?" She asked him

"No way. We do not go after them. We do not risk the rest of the group. Y'all know that."

"So we're just gonna leave her there?" Amy asked looking at him

"Look, Amy, I know that this is not easy…"

"She volunteered to go to help the rest of us." Amy pointed out to him

"I know, and she knew the risks, right? See, if she's trapped, she's gone. So we just have to deal with that. There's nothing we can do."

"She's my sister, you son of a bitch." She tells him and ran away from him

"Stay with mom." I said to my sister and followed her

* * *

Later on that day I was sitting with my sister brushing her hair when we all hear a car alarm go off, "Talk to me Dale!" Shane hollers at him as we walk over to the RV

"I can't tell yet."

"Is it them?" Amy asked and I put my hand on her shoulder, "Are they back?"

"I'll be damned."

"What is it?" I asked him

"A stolen car is my guess." He says and I see Glenn pull in, "Holy crap. Turn that damn thing off!"

"I don't know how!" Glenn yells over the siren

"Pop the hood, please. Pop the damn hood, please." Shane tells him and he popped the hood then got out

"My sister Andrea. Is she okay? Is she all right?" Amy asked him

"She's okay! She's okay!"

"Is she coming back?" She asked

"Yes!"

"Why isn't she with you? Where is she? She's okay?" Amy continued to ask

"Yes! Yeah, fine. Everybody is. Well, Merle not so much."

"Are you crazy, driving this wailing bastard up here? Are you trying to draw every Walker for miles?" Shane asked him

"I think we're okay." Dale tells him

"You call being stupid okay?"

"Shane knock it off" I tell him and he looked at me, before the world went to hell and I was still a cop me and Shane were from the same department, I became his partner after his other one, Rick, was shot ending up in the hospital.

"Well, the alarm was echoing all over these hills. Hard to pinpoint the source. I'm not arguing. I'm just saying. It wouldn't hurt you to think things through a little more carefully next time, would it?" Dale asks Glenn

"Sorry. Got a cool car." Glenn pointed out and I put my arm around his shoulder

"Eh, I prefer my Chevy's" I tell him and he smiled then I saw my dad look at him and shake his head so I put my arm down. My controlling, abusive son of a bitch father may treat my mom like crap and...do horrible things to my sister but he lost the right to do those things to me when I grew up and became a cop.

"Andrea!" Andrea runs up to Amy and the two sisters hug, "Oh!"

"Oh my god! You scared the shit out of me."

Morales gets out of the truck and his wife and children runs up to him, "Papi! Daddy!"

"Hey. Come here, sweetie. Hey. I told you I'd be back, didn't I?"

"You are a welcome sight." Dale tells him they hug, "I thought we had lost you folks for sure."

"How'd y'all get out of there anyway?" Shane asked

"New guy…he got us out." Glenn tells him

"New guy?"

"Yeah, crazy Vato just got into town. Hey, helicopter boy! Come say hello. The guy's a cop like you two." Morales says to me and Shane, we look and see a man wearing a sheriff's uniform walk out from the truck.

"Rick?" I asked and look at Shane who looks shocked

"Oh my god." Rick says looking at Lori and Carl

"Dad! Dad!" Carl yells and Rick takes Carl in his arms, crying.

"Carl. Oh!" He kisses Carl on the cheek and Lori approaches. He hugs them both, and I looked at Shane, I saw disappointment and a bit of happiness in his eyes.

* * *

I was sitting with my mom, sister and father that night and my dad puts another log on his fire, "Hey, Ed, you want to rethink that log?" Shane asked him from over by their fire

"It's cold, man."

"The cold don't change the rules, does it? Keep our fires low, just embers so we can't be seen from a distance, right?" Shane asked him and I wrapped another blanket around Sophia

"I said it's cold. You should mind your own business for once." My dad tell him and I see Shane get up and walk over

"Hey, Ed… Are you sure you want to have this conversation, man?"

"Go on. Pull the damn thing out. Go on!" My dad says to him and I stand up with a huff pull the log out of the fire.

"Christ." Shane says and stomps the flames out, "Hey, Carol, Sophia, Phoebe how are y'all this evening?" Shane asked us, being his partner for the little time that I was I had told him about my life, he wanted to rip my dads head off but he refrained even though I knew it was pissing him off seeing how my dad treated us

"Fine. We're just fine." My mom tells him

"Okay."

"I'm sorry about the fire." I said to him

"No no no. No apology needed. Y'all have a good night, okay?"

"Thank you." My mom says

"I appreciate the cooperation." Shane told us and walked away

"Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon?" I hear Dale ask and I continued to listen in. A week after we ended up here and I met both brothers Daryl was the one I was slowly getting to know, but with his brother around all the time it was hard because he kept hitting on me causing Daryl to step in. Don't get me wrong, Daryl was mostly quiet around all of us but he would make small talk with me, and I won't deny it but he is very easy on the eyes and I was kind of developing a crush on him, "He won't be happy to hear his brother was left behind." Dale says and I look at them

"I'll tell him. I dropped the key. It's on me." T-Dog mentioned

"I cuffed him. That makes it mine." Rick pointed out

"Guys, it's not a competition. I don't mean to bring race into this, but it might sound better coming from a white guy." Glenn tells them

"I did what I did. Hell if I'm gonna hide from him." T-Dog says

"We could lie." Amy mentioned

"Or tell the truth. Merle was out of control. Something had to be done or he'd have gotten us killed. Your husband did what was necessary. And if Merle got left behind, it is nobody's fault but Merle's." Andrea says

"And that's what we tell Daryl? I don't see a rational discussion to be had from that, do you? Word to the wise… We're gonna have our hands full when he gets back from his hunt." Dale points out and I stop listening and looked at the fire, this was not gonna go well.

* * *

I finished helping my mom with washing clothes the next day and walked over to Glenn as he watched Jim, Morales and Dale tear apart the car, "You know I may prefer Chevy's, but this actually breaks my heart." I tell him and he sighed, I put my arm around his shoulder, "Oh come on now don't pout, least you got to enjoy it." He opened his mouth to say something but we hear a woman scream.

"Carl!" Lori yelled running towards it and Rick followed

"Sophia!" I yelled following as well with my knife my mom followed me, "Sophia!" We get to spot where we have a string full of cans at and Sophia ran behind me to my mom and we kept going to the walker that was eating a deer, I look and saw two arrows in the dear, that had to be Daryl's.

The walker stands up and moved to us but Rick knocked it down and then they started beating on it, Dale finally cut its head off with an axe, "It's the first one we've had up here. They never come this far up the mountain." Dale mentioned

"Well, they're running out of food in the city, that's what." Jim points out then we hear branches snapping and footsteps, then I see Daryl come out of the forest, no matter what the situation was, whenever I saw him my stomach did flip flops

"Son of a bitch. That's my deer! Look at it. All gnawed on by this… filthy, disease-bearing, motherless poxy bastard!" He says as he kicks the carcass of the Walker

"Calm down, son. That's not helping." Dale tells him

"What do you know about it, old man? Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to "on golden pond"? I've been tracking this deer for miles. Gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison. What do you think? Do you think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?" He asked pointing to the bite marks on the deer

"I would not risk that." Shane tell him and Daryl sighs.

"That's a damn shame. I got some squirrel… about a dozen or so. That'll have to do."

Suddenly, the head of the Walker starts to move its teeth, "Oh god." Amy says

"Come on, people. What the hell?" Daryl shoots it with one of his arrows, "It's gotta be the brain. Don't y'all know nothing?" He asked walking away and he looked at me as he walked by heading back to camp, "Merle! Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel! Let's stew 'em up."

"Daryl, just slow up a bit. I need to talk to you." Shane tells him and he looked at him

"About what?"

"About Merle. There was a…there was a problem in Atlanta." Shane says

"He dead?" Daryl asked him

"We're not sure."

"He either is or he ain't!" Daryl yelled at him

"No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it..." Rick started to say but Daryl cut him off

"Who are you?"

"Rick Grimes." Rick introduced

"Rick grimes, you got something you want to tell me?" Daryl asked him

"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal. He's still there."

Daryl started to pace, "Hold on. Let me process this. You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there?!"

"Yeah."

Daryl goes to attack him, but Rick shoves him off, "Hey! Watch the knife!" T-Dog warned as Daryl pulls his knife out, but Shane is able to come up behind him and put him in a choke hold.

"Okay. Okay."

"You'd best let me go!" Daryl says to him

"Nah, I think it's better if I don't."

"Choke hold's illegal." Daryl tells him

"You can file a complaint. Come on, man. We'll keep this up all day."

"I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we can manage that? Do you think we can manage that?" Rick asked him bending down to Daryl who nodded his head, Shane lets him go, "What I did was not on a whim. Your brother does not work and play well with others."

"It's not Rick's fault. I had the key. I dropped it." T-Dog tells Daryl

"You couldn't pick it up?"

"Well, I dropped it in a drain." T-Dog says

"If it's supposed to make me feel better, it don't."

"Well, maybe this will. Look, I chained the door to the roof… So the geeks couldn't get at him… With a padlock." T-Dog tried to reassure him

"It's gotta count for something." Rick adds

"Hell with all y'all! Just tell me where he is so that I can go get him."

"He'll show you. Isn't that right?" Lori asked Rick

"I'm going back." He says and Lori walks into the RV shutting the door, Daryl huffed and headed over to his tent and I watched him go.

* * *

"Hey, can I come in?" I asked Daryl from outside his tent and he grunted, I walked in and raised my hands in surrender and he looked at me

"Tryin' to be funny?" He asked and I gave a small smile

"Trying? I am funny." I tell him and he scoffed, "I'm sorry, what they did was wrong."

"Yeah well..."

I sighed and reached into my back pocket, "I know you already have some but I was kind of bored the other night and made these for you." I tell him handing him some arrows, "It's just I noticed you were getting low so.."

He walked up to me and reached his hand out grabbing them and our hands touched sending sparks throughout my body, "Thanks Pheebs" He calls me by the nickname he came up with for me.

"You're welcome. Well um...be safe. I hope you can find your brother." I tell him and walk out of the tent, he followed shortly after.

"So could you just… Could you throw me a bone here, man? Could you just tell me why? Why would you risk your life for a douche bag like Merle Dixon?" I hear Shane ask Rick as they walked over

"Hey, choose your words more carefully." Daryl tells him

"No, I did. Douche bag's what I meant. Merle Dixon…The guy wouldn't give you a glass of water if you were dying of thirst."

"What he would or wouldn't do doesn't interest me. I can't let a man die of thirst… me. Thirst and exposure. We left him like an animal caught in a trap. That's no way for anything to die, let alone a human being." Rick says to him

"So you and Daryl, that's your big plan?" Lori asked him and he turned to face Glenn

"Oh, come on."

"You know the way. You've been there before…in and out, no problem. You said so yourself. It's not fair of me to ask… I know that, but I'd feel a lot better with you along. I know she would too." Rick tells him

"That's just great. Now you're gonna risk three men, huh?" Shane asked

"Four." T-Dog says and Daryl scoffed

"My day just gets better and better, don't it?"

"You see anybody else here stepping up to save your brother's cracker ass?" T-Dog asked him

"Why you?"

"You wouldn't even begin to understand. You don't speak my language." T-Dog pointed out

"That's four." Dale mentioned

"It's not just four. You're putting every single one of us at risk. Just know that, Rick. Come on, you saw that Walker. It was here. It was in camp. They're moving out of the cities. They come back, we need every able body we've got. We need 'em here. We need 'em to protect camp." Shane tells him

"It seems to me what you really need most here are more guns."

"Right, the guns." Glenn adds

"Wait. What guns?" I asked Rick

"Six shotguns, two high-powered rifles, over a dozen handguns. I cleaned out the cage back at the station before I left. I dropped the bag in Atlanta when I got swarmed. It's just sitting there on the street, waiting to be picked up."

"Ammo?" Shane asked

"700 rounds, assorted."

"You went through hell to find us. You just got here and you're gonna turn around and leave?" Lori asked Rick

"Dad, I don't want you to go." Carl says

"To hell with the guns. Shane is right. Merle Dixon? He's not worth one of your lives, even with guns thrown in. Tell me. Make me understand." She says to Rick as he walked over to her

"I owe a debt to a man I met and his little boy. Lori, if they hadn't taken me in, I'd have died. It's because of them that I made it back to you at all. They said they'd follow me to Atlanta. They'll walk into the same trap I did if I don't warn him."

"What's stopping you?" She asked

"The walkie-talkie, the one in the bag I dropped. He's got the other one. Our plan was to connect when they got closer."

"These are our walkies?" Shane asked him

"Yeah."

"So use the CB. What's wrong with that?" Andrea asked

"The CB's fine. It's the walkies that suck to crap…date back to the '70s, don't match any other bandwidth… Not even the scanners in our cars." I point out and Rick went over to talk to Lori and I walked up to Daryl.

"So um..I was thinking, I need to clean some of my clothes, would you want me to clean yours?"

He shrugged, "If you want to, you don't have to"

"I know but you've been wearing the same shirt for 3 days and you smell like ass." I told him and he lightly pushed me, I looked up at my dad who was sitting on the RV glaring at me but I continued talking to Daryl, "I gotta go, clothes are in my green bag."

"Okay, well like I said before, be safe." I told him and walked away heading to my tent then his.

* * *

"Can someone explain to me how the women wound up doing all the Hattie McDaniel work?" Jaqui asked ringing out one of her shirts

"The world ended. Didn't you get the memo?" Amy asked and I see my mom glance back at my dad as he watches us wash the laundry from his vehicle.

"It's just the way it is." She says and I look at her, I wish my mom didn't care so much for that asshole but no matter how many times I tried to convince her to leave she didn't. Mainly I just wanted to get my sister away from him, "I do miss my Maytag."

"Oh I loved that thing" I add and she smiled at me

"I miss my Benz, my sat nav." Andrea says

"I miss my coffeemaker with that dual-drip filter and built-in grinder, honey." Jaqui said

"My computer… And texting." Amy mentioned

"I miss sex" I tell them then I see my mom look at me, "Sorry" I looked down at Daryl's shirt, I couldn't tell how many times I had pictured what it would be like to have him touch me that way or kiss me

"I miss my vibrator." Andrea says breaking me out of my thoughts and we all chuckled

"Oh my God!" Amy groaned

"Me too." My mom says and they all start laughing

"Ok to much info" I said in disgust and I grabbed another one of Daryl's shirts

"What's so funny?" My dad asked walking over

"Just swapping war stories, Ed." Andrea tells him and I glanced at my mom as he comes up to us, "Problem, Ed?" She asked him

"Nothin' that concerns you. And you two ought to focus on your work. This ain't no comedy club." He tells me and I mom, I rolled my eyes and continued scrubbing

"Ed, tell you what… you don't like how your laundry is done, you are welcome to pitch in and do it yourself. Here." Andrea tells him and she tosses a shirt at him but he throws it right back.

"Ain't my job, missy."

"Andrea, don't." I tell her, pushing him only makes it worse

"What is your job, Ed? Sitting on your ass smoking cigarettes?" Andrea asked him

"Well, it sure as hell ain't listening to some uppity smart-mouthed bitch. Tell you what… come on. Let's go." He says to my mom and she stands up, I stand up to going over to her

"Mom.." I whisper and she shakes her head

"I don't think she needs to go anywhere with you, Ed." Andrea tells him standing in front of Carol

"And I say it's none of your business. Come on now. You heard me." He says to my mom again and Andrea faced her

"Carol."

"Andrea, please. It doesn't matter." my mom says to her

"Hey, don't think I won't knock you on your ass just 'cause you're some college-educated cooze, All right?" He says to Andrea then looked at my mom, "Now you come on now or you gonna regret it later."

"So she can show up with fresh bruises later, Ed? Yeah, we've seen them." Jaqui pointed out and he laughs

"Stay out of this. Now come on! You know what? This ain't none of y'all's business. You don't want to keep prodding the bull here, okay? Now I am done talking. Come on." He warned my mom and I put my hand on my gun as Andrea and Amy try to hold her back

"You don't tell me what! I tell you what!" My dad yelled and slapped my mom, I pointed my gun at him cocking it and he looked at me

"Back the hell up" I warned him and he glared at me

"You gonna shoot me?"

"If it protects my mom and sister you're damn right I will" I tell him and he laughed then let go off my mom

"Phoebe.." My mom panicked but I continued looking at my dad, before I knew it he moved my hands and slapped me across the face, before I could react Shane walked over and grabs him

"Get off me!" my dad demanded

Shane throws Ed to the ground, "It's okay. It's okay." Jaqui said to me as I hold my cheek watching Shane beat up my dad and my mom started to cry

"Shane, stop! Just stop!" I yell at him noticing my dad's face was becoming bloody and swollen, Shane grabs Ed.

"You put your hands on your wife, or your daughter or anybody else in this camp one more time, I will not stop next time. Do you hear me? Do you hear me?!" He shouted grabbing my dads face

"Yes."

"I'll beat you to death, Ed." Shane tells him and stood up

"Oh God! No. God!" My mom cried rushing over to my dad and kneels over him, "Ed, I'm sorry. Oh my God. Ed, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Ed. Ed, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Ed." I just shook my head, I'll just never understand why she does this.

* * *

"Oh, baby. Will you look at that?" Morales tells us and I see Amy and Andrea walk over with a bunch of fish, "Hey, check it out. Ladies…Because of you my children will eat tonight. Thank you."

"Thank Dale. It's his canoe and gear." Andrea tells him

"Mom, look. Look at all the fish." Carl says to her, "Whoa."

"Yeah, whoa. Where did you two learn to do that?" She asked them

"Our dad." Amy answered

"Can you teach me how to do that?" Carl asked her

"Sure. I'll teach you all about nail knots and stuff. If that's okay." She says to Lori

"You won't catch me arguing."

"Hey, Dale. When's the last time you oiled those line reels? They are a disgrace." Andrea points out to him as he walked over

"I, uh, I don't want to alarm anyone, but we may have a bit of a problem." He tells us and pointed to Jim on the hill digging

"Hey, Jim. Jim, why don't you hold up, all right? Just give me a second here, please." Shane says to him when we walk up the hill

"What do you want?"

"We're all just a little concerned, that's all." Shane mentioned

"Dale says you've been out here for hours." Morales tells him

"So?"

"So why are you digging? Are you heading to China, Jim?" Shane asked

"What does it matter? I'm not hurting anyone."

"Yeah, except maybe yourself. It's a hundred degrees today. You can't keep this up." I pointed out

"Sure I can. Watch me."

"Jim, they're not gonna say it so I will. You're scaring people. You're scaring my son and Carol's daughter." Lori tells him and I put my hand on Sophia's shoulder

"They got nothing to be scared of. I mean, what the hell, people? I'm out here by myself. Why don't you all just go and leave me the hell alone?"

"We think that you need to take a break, okay? Why don't you go and get yourself in the shade? Some food maybe. I'll tell you what… maybe in a little bit I'll come out here and help you myself. Jim, just tell me what it's about. Why don't you just go ahead and give me that shovel?" Shane asked him

"Or what?"

"There is no or what. I'm asking you. I'm coming to you and I'm asking you, please. I don't want to have to take it from you." Shane says

"And if I don't, then what? Then you're gonna beat my face in like Ed Peletier, aren't you?" He asked and looked at my mom, "Y'all seen his face, huh? What's left of it. See, now that's what happens when someone crosses you." Jim said to Shane

"That was different, Jim."

"You weren't there. Ed was out of control. He was hurting his wife and daughter." Amy defended

"That is their marriage. That is not his. He is not judge and jury. Who voted you king boss, huh?"

"Jim, I'm not here to argue with you, all right? Just give me the shovel, okay?" Shane asked moving towards him

"No, no, no."

"Just give me the… Jim!" Jim shoves Shane away and then threatens to hit him with it. Shane tackles Jim to the ground, "Okay, shh shh."

"You got no right!"

"Stop. Shh." Shane comforted as he pinned Jim's hands behind his back

"You got no right!"

"Jim, just stop it. Hey hey hey hey. Jim. Jim, nobody's gonna hurt you. You hear me? Shh. Jim, nobody is gonna hurt you, okay?" Shane tells him

"That's a lie. That's the biggest lie there is. I told that to my wife and my two boys. I said it 100 times. It didn't matter. They came out of nowhere. There were dozens of 'em. Just pulled 'em right out of my hands. You know, the only reason I got away was 'cause the dead were too busy eating my family." Jim tells us and I closed my eyes

* * *

Later that night we all gather around enjoying the fish fry, "I've got to ask you, man. It's been driving me crazy." Morales says to Dale

"What?" Dale asked

"That watch."

"What's wrong with my watch?" Dale asks

"I see you every day, the same time, winding that thing like a village priest saying mass."

"I've wondered this myself." Jaqui adds

"I'm missing the point."

"Unless I've misread the signs, the world seems to have come to an end. At least hit a speed bump for a good long while." Jaqui mentioned

"But there's you every day winding that stupid watch." Morales added

"Time… it's important to keep track, isn't it? The days at least. Don't you think, Andrea? Back me up here. I like… I like what, um, a father said to son when he gave him a watch that had been handed down through generations. He said, 'I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire, which will fit your individual needs no better than it did mine or my father's before me; I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you may forget it for a moment now and then and not spend all of your breath trying to conquer it.'"

"You are so weird." Amy tells him and we all laugh.

"It's not me. It's Faulkner. William Faulkner. Maybe my bad paraphrasing."

Amy gets up from the campfire, "Where are you going?" Andrea asked her

"I have to pee. Jeez, you try to be discreet around here…" She says and we laugh again

"Phoebe can I have some more fish?" Sophia asked me and I smiled at her putting the extra fish I had on her plate, "Aren't you hungry?"

"Nah I'm getting full, plus you need to eat more so you can grow big and strong" I tell her and she smiled then started eating her food

"We're out of toilet paper?" I hear Amy say from the RV then suddenly she screams, I look up and see a walker biting her arm.

Suddenly everyone screams and scatters, "Get behind me!" I yell to my mom as she protects my sister and I grab my gun out then me and Shane start shooting at the walkers

"Stay close! Stay close!" Shane yells leading Lori and Carl to the RV and I followed but I see walkers attacking a few more people and Jim is hitting them with a bat

"Stay with Shane!" I tell her and run over to the tents shooting more of them then suddenly my gun runs out, "Shit!" I said and just when I was gonna grab my knife one walked up to me and I put my hands on it holding it back but we fell to the ground, it snaps it's teeth at me but is pulled off and I see Daryl stab it in the head, he reached his hand out and I grabbed it

"Stay by me" He tells me and I grab my knife as we head back over to the others while killing walkers. When it was over I ran to my mom and Sophia hugging them making sure they were okay then I looked at Daryl and nodded my head silently thanking him

"Amy. I don't know what to do, Amy. Oh, Amy. Oh no no." I hear Andrea cry and I looked over at her Amy touches Andrea's cheek then she dies. Andrea begins to sob, "Amy! Amy! Amy!"

"I remember my dream now, why I dug the holes." Jim tells us


	2. Chapter 2

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

"Phoebe, is it wrong of me to not feel sad about daddy's death?" My little sister asked as I sat with her and Carl while we colored, I told Lori and my mom I would keep them distracted while they handled the bodies.

"No sweetie, it's ok to feel however you want to about it."

"Is mom sad?" She asked and I looked over at my mom

"I'm sure she is in some way." I tell her with a small smile

"Are you?"

"Can you keep a secret?" I asked her and she nodded her head, "I'm not" I said to her and she nodded her head, "So..what did you draw?" I asked her and she showed me her picture, "Is that an monkey?"

She giggled, "No, it's a dog."

"Looks like a monkey, maybe a monkey dog" I tell her and made the face of a dog but did a monkey noise and both her and Carl laughed

"What did you draw?" Carl asked me and I showed him

"I drew the three of us laying on grass looking at the sky" I said and they both smiled, then I looked over at Daryl, "I'll be right back" I tell them and walked over to him, "Hey" I said and he looked at me, "Thanks, for last night."

"It was nothin'," He tells me and swung his pick axe into the skull of a dead body

"You saved me, just take the compliment" I tell him and he looked at me

"You're welcome" He says and I lightly pushed him, we looked at each other for a moment and he looked like he was gonna say something else but Jaqui cut him off talking to the others

"A walker got him. A walker bit Jim."

All the guys gather around Jim, "I'm okay. I'm okay."

"Show it to us. Show it to us." Daryl demanded and Jim grabs a shovel, what's with this dude and shovels?

"Easy, Jim." Shane says trying to calm him down, "Jim, put it down. Put it down."

T-Dog catches Jim back and holds him, "I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay." Jim says over and over, Daryl lifts Jim's shirt, revealing a deep wound and they all move away from him, "I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay."

* * *

"I say we put a pick axe in his head and the dead girl's and be done with it." Daryl tells us as we gathered around to talk about Jim

"Is that what you'd want if it were you?" Shane asked him

"Yeah, and I'd thank you while you did it."

"I hate to say it… I never thought I would… but maybe Daryl's right." Dale pointed out

"Jim's not a monster, Dale, or some rabid dog." Rick starts to tell him

"I'm not suggesting…"

"He's sick. A sick man. We start down that road, where do we draw the line?" Rick asked cutting him off

"The line's pretty clear. Zero tolerance for walkers, or them to be." Daryl says

"What if we can get him help? I heard the C.D.C. was working on a cure." Rick mentioned

"I heard that too. Heard a lot of things before the world went to hell." I point out

"What if the C.D.C. is still up and running?" Rick asked

"Man, that is a stretch right there." Shane tells him

"Why? If there's any government left, any structure at all, they'd protect the C.D.C. at all costs, wouldn't they? I think it's our best shot. Shelter, protection…"

"Okay, Rick, you want those things, all right? I do too, okay? Now if they exist, they're at the army base. Fort Benning." Shane brought up

"That's 100 miles in the opposite direction." Lori says to him

"That is right. But it's away from the hot zone. Now listen to me. If that place is operational, it'll be heavily armed. We'd be safe there."

"The military were on the front lines of this thing. They got overrun. We've all seen that. The C.D.C. is our best choice and Jim's only chance." Rick said

"You go looking for aspirin, do what you need to do. Someone needs to have some balls to take care of this damn problem!" Daryl yelled rushing over to Jim raising his pick axe but Rick followed and pointed his gun at Daryl

"We don't kill the living."

Daryl turned and faced him, "That's funny coming from a man who just put a gun to my head."

"We may disagree on some things, not on this. You put it down." Shane says to Daryl and he puts the pick axe down and walks away.

* * *

Daryl continues to swing the pick axe into the skulls of the dead people in our camp as me and my mom walked over when he gets to my dad and my mom stops him, "I'll do it. He's my husband." She tells him and he looked at me, I nodded and he handed her the pick axe. She swings the pick axe down on my dads skull repeatedly and all of her anger against him is let loose. After she's done she stands there sobbing and I slowly walked over to her and reached for the pick axe while putting my other hand on her shoulder, I took it away and handed it back to Daryl pulling her into a hug

"It's okay mom, it's ok" I reassured her then looked at Daryl, I meant what I said to Sophia, I wasn't sad about his death, I was happy because now we didn't have to fear him anymore.

* * *

I sat in the passenger seat of Daryl's truck as he drove up the hill with the people we were burying in the back of it, "How are you doing?" He asked and I looked at him

"I don't miss him if that's what mean, I'm glad he's gone. I feel sad though that my little sister isn't quite sure how to feel. I mean, he...did things to me and hurt my mom and did the same things he did to me that he did to Sophia and all I've ever wanted to do was put a bullet in his head. I guess I feel, I don't know, relieved"

"Your lip, did he do that?" He asked and I touched my lip

"Yeah, down at the water when I was trying to protect my mom, I drew my gun on him after he hit her but he moved my hands away and slapped me."

"He's lucky I wasn't there" He mumbled and I looked at him again

"Why?"

"Cause Shane stopped, I wouldn't have" He says and backed up to the graves and got out, I shook myself from the shock of what he said and followed. There's no way that it meant what I thought it meant, "I still think it's a mistake not burning these bodies. It's what we said we'd do, right? Burn 'em all, wasn't that the idea?" Daryl asked Shane and Rick as the rest of the group walk over

"At first." Shane tells him

"The Chinaman gets all emotional, says it's not the thing to do, we just follow him along? These people need to know who the hell's in charge here, what the rules are."

"There are no rules." Rick pointed out

"Well, that's a problem. We haven't had one minute to hold onto anything of our old selves. We need time to mourn and we need to bury our dead. It's what people do." Lori says and they proceed with burying the bodies then I see Andrea and Dale carry Amy's body, Andrea gets in the whole and tries to pull Amy in but struggles and I see Dale try to help her as she cries

"I can do it. I can do it. I can do it! I can do it." SHe tells him over and over but Dale helps her anyways then helped her out of the hole. We then stand there in silence, I put my hand on my sister's shoulders, I don't know what I would do if I lost her, or my mom.

* * *

"I've been, uh… I've been thinking about Rick's plan." Shane tells us as him and Rick walk over, "Now look, there are no…there are no guarantees either way. I'll be the first one to admit that. I've known this man a long time. I trust his instincts. I say the most important thing here is we need to stay together. So those of you that agree, we leave first thing in the morning." He finished and I looked at my mom, she nodded and I gave her a small smile

* * *

"Everybody listen up. Those of you with C.B.s, we're gonna be on channel 40. Let's keep the chatter down, okay? Now you got a problem, don't have a C.B., can't get a signal or anything at all, you're gonna hit your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan. Any questions?" Shane told us

"We're, uh… We're… we're not going." Morales says to him

"We have family in Birmingham. We want to be with our people." Miranda added

"You go on your own, you won't have anyone to watch your back."

"We'll take the chance. I got to do what's best for my family." Morales pointed out

"You sure?" Rick asked him

"We talked about it. We're sure."

"All right. Shane." Rick says to him and they bend down to the gun bag. Rick hands Morales a gun and Shane hands him ammo.

"The box is half full." Shane tells them

"Thank you all… For everything." Miranda tells us and Lori hugs her Lori, Eliza gives her doll to Sophia, who is crying

"Bye." Eliza tells her and I bent down to see if Sophia was okay, she sadly nodded her head and I gave her a hug

"Channel 40 if you change your minds. All right?" Rick asked him handing him a radio

We all head to the vehicles and I look at my mom, "I'm gonna ride with Daryl," I tell her and she looked at me, "He doesn't have a CB, I do. Plus it'll be cramped in your Cherokee."

"Okay" She says and headed to her car, I walked over to Daryl's

"What are you doing?" He asked me and I held up my radio

"Made more sense" I said and he nodded then I got in the passenger seat and we all drove off.

* * *

"I told you we'd never get far on that hose. I said I needed the one from the cube van." Dale tells Rick after we stop on the road

"Can you jury-rig it?"

"That's all it's been so far. It's more duct tape than hose. And I'm out of duct tape." Dale pointed out

"I see something up ahead. A gas station if we're lucky." Shane tells us and Jacqui gets out of the RV.

"Y'all, Jim… It's bad. I don't think he can take anymore." She says and goes back to Jim

"Hey, Rick, you want to hold down the fort? I'll drive ahead, see what I can bring back." Shane tells him and Rick nodded heading to the RV

"Yeah, I'll come along too and I'll back you up." T-Dog tells Shane

"Y'all keep your eyes open now. We'll be right back."

I stood with my back leaning against Daryl's truck when he walked over to me, "What are ya doin'?"

"I'm trying to remember the last time I saw a movie" I tell him and he looked at me, "I know it's a weird thing to think about right now but I honestly can't remember the last time I saw one. I know it was when I just got out of the police academy but not sure when, or what movie it even was." I said and he continued to look at me, "What?" I asked with smile

"Nothin', you're right, weird thing to think about right now."

"Yeah but I'm a weird person." I said

"I've noticed" I lightly pushed him and he gave a small smile. That's one of the many things that made me like Daryl, he's such a hard ass to everyone else but never me, and what sucked even more is that my crush on him was getting stronger everyday

* * *

"It's what he says he wants." Rick tells us concerning Jim

"And he's lucid?" I asked him

"He seems to be. I would say yes."

"Back in the camp when I said Daryl might be right and you shut me down, you misunderstood. I would never go along with callously killing a man. I was just gonna suggest that we ask Jim what he wants. And I think we have an answer." Dale pointed out

"We just leave him here? We take off? Man, I'm not sure I could live with that." Shane mentioned

"It's not your call, either one of you." Lori says

Rick and Shane carry Jim to a nearby tree, "Hey, another damn tree." Jim chuckles.

"Hey, Jim… I mean, you know it doesn't need to be this." Shane tells him

"No. It's good. The breeze feels nice." Shane says and stands up then Jaqui knelt in front of him

"Just close your eyes, sweetie. Don't fight." Jacqui kisses him on the cheek. Rick takes a gun and shows him.

"Jim, do you want this?"

"No. You'll need it. I'm okay. I'm okay." Jim tells him, we all say our goodbyes and left, leaving Jim there.

* * *

"All right, everybody. Keep moving. Go on. Stay quiet. Let's go." Shane tells us as we get out of the vehicles at the CDC and see dead bodies everywhere

"We're almost there, baby. Almost there." Lori says to Carl as I walked next to my mom and Sophia then we reach the doors

"Nothing?" Shane pounds on door.

"There's nobody here." T-Dog pointed out

"Then why are these shutters down?" Rick asked

"Walkers!" Daryl says shooting one that was getting close to us, "You led us into a graveyard!" He shouted at Rick

"He made a call." Shane tells him

"It was the wrong damn call!"

"Just shut up. You hear?" Shane says and shoved him, "Shut up. Shut up! Rick, this is a dead end."

"Where are we gonna go?" Jaqui asked

"Do you hear me? No blame." Shane tells Rick

"She's right. We can't be here, this close to the city after dark." Lori mentioned

"Fort Benning, Rick… Still an option." Shane suggested

"On what? No food, no fuel. That's 100 miles." Andrea says

"125. I checked the map." Glenn corrected

"Forget Fort Benning. We need answers tonight, now." Lori told Rick

"We'll think of something."

"Come on, let's go. Let's get out of here. Let's go. Please." Shane tells us and started to move us back to head to the cars

"The camera… it moved." Rick says and we look back at him

"You imagined it." Shane told him

"It moved. It moved."

"Rick, it is dead, man. It's an automated device. It's gears, okay? They're just winding down. Now come on. Man, just listen to me. Look around this place. It's dead, okay? It's dead. You need to let it go, Rick." Shane says and Rick slams on the shutters.

"Rick, there's nobody here!" Lori says moving in front of him

"I know you're in there. I know you can hear me." Shane tries to drag him away, with the help of Lori.

"Everybody get back to the cars now!" Shane ordered us and I kept my mom and Sophia close to me

"Please, we're desperate. Please help us. We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left." Rick begs to the camera, "We have nowhere else to go." Rick pounds on the door, "If you don't let us in, you're killing us! Please!"

"Come on, buddy, let's go. Let's go." Shane says trying to pull him away

"Please help us. You're killing us! You're killing us! You're killing us!" We are just about to leave when the door to the CDC opens, drowning us in light

* * *

"Daryl, Phoebe you cover the back." Shane tells us and we cover everyone as they go inside

"Hello? Hello?" Rick called and we hear a gun cock, we all turn around and I raise mine up along with Daryl

"Anybody infected?" The man at the top of the stairs asked

"One of our group was. He didn't make it." Rick told him

"Why are you here? What do you want?"

"A chance." Rick says

"That's asking an awful lot these days." The man says to him

"I know."

"You all submit to a blood test. That's the price of admission." He told us lower his gun

"We can do that." Rick agreed

"You got stuff to bring in, you do it now. Once this door closes, it stays closed." The man told us walking down the stairs

"Stay here" I told my mom and ran out with Daryl, T-Dog, Rick, Shane and Glenn grabbing our things then came back inside

"Vi, seal the main entrance. Kill the power up here." The man says out loud and the doors shut

"Rick Grimes." Rick introduced

"Dr. Edwin Jenner."

* * *

"Doctors always go around packing heat like that?" Daryl asked him from next to me in the elevator

"There were plenty left lying around. I familiarized myself. But you look harmless enough. Except you." He says looking at Carl, "I'll have to keep my eye on you." HE tells him and Carl smiled and we reached the level getting off

"Are we underground?" My mom asked him

"Are you claustrophobic?"

"A little." she said

"Try not to think about it." He says and we enter a computer room, "Vi, bring up the lights in the big room." He said and the lights came on, "Welcome to zone 5."

"Where is everybody? The other doctors, the staff?" Rick asked him

"I'm it. It's just me here."

"What about the person you were speaking with? Vi?" I asked

"Vi, say hello to our guests. Tell them...Welcome."

 _Hello, guests. Welcome._

"I'm all that's left. I'm sorry."

* * *

"What's the point? If we were infected, we'd all be running a fever." Andrea tells him as he gets ready to take her blood

"I've already broken every rule in the book letting you in here. Let me just at least be thorough" The syringe clicks, "All done." He tells her and she stands up but looked like she was gonna pass out, "Are you okay?"

"She hasn't eaten in days. None of us have." Jaqui told him moving over to help her

* * *

"You know, in Italy, children have a little bit of wine with dinner. And in France." Dale says to Lori as she held her hand over Carl's glass while we ate

"Well, when Carl is in Italy or France, he can have some then."

"What's it gonna hurt?" Rick asked her, "Come on." He says and she looked at him then lifted her hand up

"There you are, young lad." Dale says to him handing Carl his glass with only a little in it and Carl took a drink

"Eww." Carl says in disgust and we all laugh

"That's my boy. That's my boy. Good boy." Lori says to him and poured it into her glass

I feel someone sit down next to me and I look over to see Daryl straddling the back of the chair, he hands me a glass of wine with a small smirk on his face and I take the glass then he stood up again.

"Well, just stick to sour pop there, bud." Shane says to Carl

"Not you, Glenn." Daryl says to him

"What?"

"Keep drinking, little man. I want to see how red your face can get." He says and I rolled my eyes smiling at him then took a drink of the wine glancing at Daryl who I caught looking over at me and I took another drink while everyone laughed

Rick stands up clinking his glass, "It seems to me we haven't thanked our host properly."

"He is more than just our host." T-Dog adds and we all raise our glasses

Hear hear!"

"Booyah!" Daryl exclaimed and I shook my head

"So when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, doc? All the... the other doctors that were supposed to be figuring out what happened, - where are they?" Shane asked him

"We're celebrating, Shane. Don't need to do this now." Rick says to him

"Whoa, wait a second. This is why we're here, right? This was your move... Supposed to find all the answers. Instead we...We found him. Found one man. Why?"

"Well, when things got bad, a lot of people just left. Went off to be with their families. And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted." Jenner answered

"Every last one?" Shane asked

"No, many couldn't face walking out the door. They...opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time."

"You didn't leave. Why?" Andrea asked him

"I just kept working. Hoping to do some good." Jenner finished and the room fell silent

"Dude, you are such a buzzkill, man." Glenn says to Shane

* * *

"Most of the facility is powered down including housing, so you'll have to make do here. The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you like. There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy. Just don't plug in the video games, okay? Or anything that draws power. The same applies... If you shower, go easy on the hot water." Jenner said leading us down the hall then walked away, we all looked at each other in shock

"Hot water?" Glenn asked

"That's what the man said." T-Dog replied and everyone hurried off to find a room, I found one that I was gonna have by myself and set my bag down. I opened my bag up grabbing some clothes and headed to the shower room, the hot water felt so great on my skin as I washed dirt and blood off of me. When I was done I headed back to my room and finished ringing out my hair when there was a knock at my door, I opened it and saw Daryl standing there.

"Found the good stuff" He says holding up some whiskey

"Well don't be selfish" I tell him with a smile and he walked in, I shut the door and we sat down on the couch, "Pretty crazy day huh?" I asked then took a drink, I wasn't much of a whiskey person but I'd drink it.

"Could say that" Daryl says taking the bottle then took a drink, "Doin' ok?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked him

"Because of what happened a the quarry"

"You mean my dad?" I asked and he nodded, I sighed and took a big swig, I was started to feel a little tipsy and I looked at him, "Everyone thinks I should be grieving but I'm not. Honestly I've never felt better and I know that it's a bad thing to say because most kids would do anything for a dad but mine...mine was...the things he did to my sister...to me, then hurt my mom I just..." I took another drink and stood up handing him the bottle, "I feel free, free of his abuse, free of his shadow, free of everything. I can finally be who I want to be, my mom doesn't have to cower anymore and my sister doesn't have to be afraid to be in the same room as him." I tell him and he looked at me, "I'm sorry"

"Don't be, I know what you mean" He says and I gave a small smile

"You know he would always give me dirty looks too whenever I would talk to you"

"Why?" He asked me

"Because he thought, " I paused and chuckled, "He thought you were a low life redneck" I tell him and he scoffed, "I never thought of you that way though, not ever" I said and he tried to hide a smile, "Truth is I..." I started to say but stopped

"You what?" He asked and I walked over taking the bottle from him again and took a drink

"Nothing" I told him looking down and he walked over to me

"Pheebs.."

I glanced at him then back at the floor, "I like you" I whispered under my breath

"Hmm?"

I sighed and looked at him, "I like you, a lot, more then just a friend."

"What like a brother of somethin'?"

"No," I chuckled, "Like...I have very strong feelings for you, I've had a crush on you for a while now. God I sound juvenile" I said putting my hands over my eyes, "But the point is you wouldn't like a girl like me, complete mess of a person and it's okay if you don't I'm just drunk and blurting things out I don't even..." I started to ramble then before I knew it he crashed his lips against mine and I stiffened in shock then relaxed into it kissing him back. My whole body was tingling, and my stomach wouldn't stop flipping but then he pulled away leaving me to miss the contact and I looked at him in shock, "Umm...what?" I asked in a daze and he chuckled

"You talk to much" He says with his face still somewhat close to mine

"Uh..." I couldn't speak, I was feeling so many things when suddenly there was a knock at my door and my mom walked in with Sophia, Daryl moved away from me and headed to the door

"Night" He says and left, I see my mom look at me confused and I shrugged, the hell did that just mean? Did it...mean...there's no way it did. I said goodnight to my mom and sister then laid on the couch staring at the ceiling lost in thought until I fell asleep

* * *

"Eggs. Powdered, but... but I do 'em good." I hear T-Dog say as I walked into the cafeteria sitting down next to Glenn who moaned, "Protein helps the hangover." He tells him putting eggs on his plate

"Where'd all this come from?" Rick asked holding up a bottle of aspirin

"Jenner." Lori told him

"Could you help me, please?"

"He thought we could use it." Lori adds opening the bottle for him

"Don't ever ever ever let me drink again." Glenn groaned and I rubbed his back and smiled at Jaqui then I see Daryl walk in, I looked at him as he glanced at me, I half expected him to sit away from me but to my surprise he sat down next to me.

"Morning" I tell him not looking at him, suddenly I feel his hand on my knee and I glanced at him then looked back forward.

"Hey." Shane greeted walking in

"Hey. Feel as bad as I do?" Rick asked him

"Worse."

"The hell happened to you? Your neck?" T-Dog asked

"I must have done it in my sleep."

"Never seen you do that before." Rick pointed out

"Me neither. Not like me at all." Shane says and I see Lori shift

"Morning." Jenner says walking in

"Doctor, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing..." Dale starts to say

"But you will anyway."

"We didn't come here for the eggs." Andrea told him

* * *

"Give me playback of TS-19." Jenner says to the computer as we walk into the computer room

 _Playback of TS-19._

"Few people ever got a chance to see this. Very few." He tells us and we look at the screen to see a brain

"Is that a brain?" Carl asked him

"An extraordinary one. Not that it matters in the end. Take us in for E.I.V."

 _Enhanced internal view._

"What are those lights?" Shane asked him

"It's a person's life...experiences, memories. It's everything. Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light, is you...the thing that makes you unique. And human."

"You don't make sense ever?" Daryl asked him from next to me and I looked at him then back at the screen

"Those are synapses, electric impulses in the brain that carry all the messages. They determine everything a person says does or thinks from the moment of birth to the moment of death."

"Death? That's what this is, a vigil?" Rick asks

"Yes. Or rather the playback of the vigil."

"This person died? Who?" Andrea asked him

"Test subject 19. Someone who was bitten and infected...and volunteered to have us record the process. Vi, scan forward to the first event.

 _Scanning to first event._

"What is that?" Glenn asked as we see part of the brain start to darken

"It invades the brain like meningitis. The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown, then the major organs. Then death. Everything you ever were or ever will be... Gone."

"Is that what happened to Jim?" Sophia asked our mom

"Yes."

I see Andrea look down, "She lost somebody two days ago. Her sister." Lori tells Jenner

"I lost somebody too. I know how devastating it is. Scan to the second event."

Scanning to second event.

"The resurrection times vary wildly. We had reports of it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard of was eight hours. In the case of this patient, it was two hours, one minute... Seven seconds."

"It restarts the brain?" I asked seeing red electricity going through the now completely darkened brain

"No, just the brain stem. Basically, it gets them up and moving."

"But they're not alive?" Rick asked

"You tell me."

"It's nothing like before. Most of that brain is dark." Rick points out

"Dark, lifeless, dead. The frontal lobe, the neocortex, the human part... That doesn't come back. The you part. Just a shell driven by mindless instinct." Jenner says and we see a light streak go through the brain

"God. What was that?" My mom asked

"He shot his patient in the head. Didn't you?" Andrea asked

"Vi, power down the main screen and the workstations."

 _Powering down main screen and workstations._

"You have no idea what it is, do you?" Andrea asks

"It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal."

"Or the wrath of God?" Jaqui says

"There is that."

"Somebody must know something. Somebody somewhere." Andrea says

"There are others, right? Other facilities?" My mom asked

"There may be some. People like me."

"But you don't know? How can you not know?" Rick asked him

"Everything went down. Communications, directives... all of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month."

"So it's not just here. There's nothing left anywhere? Nothing? That's what you're really saying, right?" I asked and my mom put her hand on my shoulder but I stepped away putting my hands on my face

"Jesus. Man, I'm gonna get shit-faced drunk...again." Daryl says

"Dr. Jenner, I know this has been taxing for you and I hate to ask one more question, but...that clock...it's counting down. What happens at zero?" Dale asked him

"The basement generators...they run out of fuel."

"And then?" Rick asked him but he walked away, "Vi, what happens when the power runs out?"

 _When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur._

* * *

I was in my room when there was a knock on my door, "Come in"

"Hey" I hear Daryl say and I looked at him and saw a bottle in his hand

"I'm not really in the drinking mood right now" I told him looking back down at my old cop badge.

"What's up?" He asked sitting down across from me

"Just thinking about the day this all started. Shane was visiting Rick and I was heading to my mom's house, we had heard things on the news but I never thought anything of it until I saw walkers eating someone 2 houses away from my family so I speed up, rushed into the house telling them to gather anything of importance that they good, and of course my dad being a survival nut had tons of things prepared. We loaded up into my mom's Cherokee and headed out hearing the emergency broadcast. I kept thinking to myself that this was the last thing I expected to happen in this world and now here we are." I said and looked at him, "Sorry I'm rambling"

"It's ok, better then what I was doing"

"Well now I'm curious" I told him

"Me and Merle were just sitting at home when we heard everything go on, then did the same as you, packed up and left. I had to pull his leg to get him to agree with going to the refugee center then again to join this group."

"I can imagine," I said with a smile, "So Daryl about.." I started to say but got cut off when the lights went off, "What the?" I asked and Daryl stood up and offered me his hand helping me up as well, we walked to the door opening it and seeing Jenner walk by

"Why is the air off?" Lori asked

"And the lights in our room?" My mom asks

"What's going on? Why is everything turned off?" Daryl asked as well and Jenner grabbed his bottle

"Energy use is being prioritized."

"Air isn't a priority? And lights?" Dale asked him and we started to follow him

"It's not up to me. Zone 5 is shutting itself down."

"Hey! Hey, what the hell does that mean?" Daryl asked him but he kept silent so Daryl caught up to him, "Hey man, I'm talking to you. What do you mean it's shutting itself down? How can a building do anything?"

"You'd be surprised."

"Rick?" Lori asked looking over the railing of the stairs Jenner walked down and we followed

"Jenner, what's happening?" Rick asked him

"The system is dropping all the nonessential uses of power. It's designed to keep the computers running to the last possible second. That started as we approached the half-hour mark. Right on schedule." He tells us and took a drink of the whiskey handing it back to Daryl who snatched it out of Jenner's hand, "It was the French."

"What?" I asked him

"They were the last ones to hold out as far as I know. While our people were bolting out the doors and committing suicide in the hallways, they stayed in the labs till the end. They thought they were close to a solution."

"What happened?"

"The same thing that's happening here. No power grid. Ran out of juice. The world runs of fossil fuel. I mean, how stupid is that?" Jenner asked and moved to the computer

"Let me tell you..." Shane started to tell him but Rick pulled him back

"To hell with it, Shane. I don't even care. Lori, grab our things. Everybody, get your stuff. We're getting out of here now!" Rick tells us, Daryl grabbed my hand and as we start to move an alarm goes off

"What's that?" Shane asked

 _30 minutes to decontamination._

"Doc, what's going on here?" Daryl asked him

"Everybody, y'all heard Rick. Get your stuff and let's go! Go now! Go!" Shane says to us and we started to move again but the door shut

"Did you just lock us in? He just locked us in!" Glenn yelled

I moved over to my mom and put my hand on Sophia's shoulder looking at Daryl who turned and looked at Jenner

"You son of a bitch." He yelled running over to Jenner grabbing him, "You let us out of here!"

"No, stop. Don't!" Shane says as him and T-Dog hold Daryl back

"Hey, Jenner, open that door now." Rick demanded

"There's no point. Everything topside is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed."

"Well, open the damn things." Dale tells him

"That's not something I control. The computers do. I told you once that front door closed, it wouldn't open again. You heard me say that. It's better this way."

"What is? What happens in 28 minutes?" Rick asked as I stood by my mom who was holding my sister, Jenner doesn't answer and Shane kicked his chair, "What happens in 28 minutes?!"

"You know what this place is?! We protected the public from very nasty stuff! Weaponized smallpox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you don't want getting out! Ever! In the event of a catastrophic power failure... in a terrorist attack, for example... H.I.T.s are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out."

"H.I.T.s?" Rick asked him

"Vi, define."

 _H.I.T.s... high-impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosives consists of a two-stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen between 5,000° and 6,000° and is used when the greatest loss of life and damage to structures is desired._

"It sets the air on fire." Jenner says and I put my hand over my mouth as my mom pulled me and Sophia into a hug and I try to hold back tears as they cry, "No pain. An end to sorrow, grief... Regret. Everything."

* * *

"Open the damn door!" Daryl yelled at him after throwing the bottle of whiskey at it, I stood next to the computer that my mom and sister were sitting down in front of

"Out of my way!" Shane yelled running over the doors with an axe

"Daryl!" T-Dog yelled throwing him one as well and both him and Shane continued hitting the door

"You should've left well enough alone. It would've been so much easier." Jenner told us

"Easier for who?" Lori asked him holding Carl

"All of you. You know what's out there... A short, brutal life and an agonizing death. Your... your sister... what was her name?" He asked Andrea

"Amy."

"Amy. You know what this does. You've seen it. Is that really what you want for your wife and son?" He asked Rick

"I don't want this."

"Can't make a dent." Shane says coming over out of breath

"Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher." Jenner told him

"Well, your head ain't!" Daryl yelled raising the axe then Shane, T-Dog and Rick pushed his back and he walked over to me huffing, I looked at him then back at Jenner

"You do want this. Last night you said you knew it was just a matter of time before everybody you loved was dead." Jenner says to Rick and we all look at him in shock

"What? You really said that? After all your big talk?" Shane asked him

"I had to keep hope alive, didn't I?" Rick asked looking at Lori

"There is no hope. There never was." Jenner tells him

"There's always hope. Maybe it won't be you, maybe not here, but somebody somewhere."

"What part of "everything is gone" do you not understand?" Andrea asked him

"Listen to your friend. She gets it. This is what takes us down. This is our extinction event."

"This isn't right. You can't just keep us here." My mom cried

"One tiny moment... a millisecond. No pain."

"My daughters don't deserve to die like this." She says standing Sophia up who I pull into a hug and my mom followed then I hugged her as well

"Wouldn't it be kinder, more compassionate to just hold your loved ones and wait for the clock to run down?" Jenner asked us and I hear a gun cock, I turned to see Shane point a rifle at Jenner

"Shane, no!" Rick yelled at him as I moved my mom and Sophia behind me

"Out of the way, Rick! Stay out of my way!" He yelled, "Open that door or I'm gonna blow your head off. Do you hear me?!"

"Brother, brother, this is not the way you do this. We will never get out of here." Rick tells him

"Shane, you listen to him." Lori adds

"It's too late."

"He dies, we all...We all die!" Rick said and Shane yelled then started to shoot at the computers, I moved Sophia away and my mom followed

"Shane! Shane!" Rick yelled and Shane stopped, "Are you done now? Are you done?" He asked him

"Yeah, I guess we all are."

Shane walked away and Rick turned to Jenner, "I think you're lying."

"What?"

"You're lying about no hope. If that were true, you'd have bolted with the rest or taken the easy way out. You didn't. You chose the hard path. Why?" Rick asked him

"It doesn't matter."

"It does matter. It always matters. You stayed when others ran. Why?" Risk asks

"Not because I wanted to. I made a promise...to her. My wife."

"Test subject 19 was your wife?" I asked him

"She begged me to keep going as long as I could. How could I say no? She was dying. It should've been me on that table. I wouldn't have mattered to anybody. She was a loss to the world. Hell, she ran this place. I just worked here. In our field, she was an Einstein. Me? I'm just... Edwin Jenner. She could've done something about this. Not me."

"Your wife didn't have a choice. You do. That's... that's all we want... a choice, a chance." Rick pleaded and I looked over at Daryl who went back to hitting the door, "Let us keep trying as long as we can."

Jenner stood there in hesitation, "I told you topside's locked down. I can't open those." He says and the door opens

"Come on! Let's go!" Daryl yells at us and I grab Sophia's hand running with her up the ramp to the door and I stopped in front of Daryl looking back to see Jenner whisper something in Rick's ear.

"Hey, we've got four minutes left! Come on!" Glenn yelled at him as Lori went to get him

"No no, I'm staying. I'm staying, sweetie." Jaqui said and I went to walk to her but Daryl held my arm stopping me

"But that's insane!" T-Dog told her

"No, it's completely sane. For the first time in a long time. I'm not ending up like Jim and Amy. There's no time to argue and no point, not if you want to get out. Just get out. Get out."

"T-Dog. Come on." I say to him and I see Andrea still standing where she was

"I'm staying too." She says and walks away

"Andrea, no." Dale tells her then looked at us, "Just go! Go!" He yelled and Daryl's hand went from my arm to my waist pulling me, I grabbed my sisters hand again and we started to run making our way to the top level.

"Get them doors open!" Glenn yelled as T-Dog banged on them then they tried the keypad. I see Shane and Daryl run over to a window with the axes and started hitting them

"Stay close, sweetheart." My mom tells Sophia

"Daryl, look out!" T-Dog yelled running over to the window with a chair hitting it against the window but nothing

"Dog, get down! Get down!" Shane tells him and shot at the window with a rifle but it didn't do anything, "Jesus."

"The glass won't break?" Sophia asked and I wrapped my arm around her as my mom walked over to Rick

"Rick, I have something that might help." She tells him digging in her purse

"Carol, I don't think a nail file's gonna do it." Shane says to her

"Your first morning at camp, when I washed your uniform I found this in your pocket." She held up a grenade and Rick looked at her then grabbed it

"Sophia come on" I tell my sister getting her down behind a pilar then my mom joined us and we both ducked covering her

"Get down! Get down!" Shane yelled

"Shit!" I hear Rick yell then there was a loud boom and the glass shattered

"Come on" I grabbed Sophia's hand and we made our way to the window, I lifted over up so she didn't cut herself and handed her to Daryl then he helped me out then my mom who grabbed my sisters hand. We make our way to the vehicles killing walkers along the way, I ran with Daryl to his truck and we get in.

"Dale get down!" I hear Lori yell then I feel Daryl cover my head as we ducked in the seat and there was a loud explosion which shook the truck a little as I clung to him. When we looked up we saw the CDC up in flames, my heart was pounding out of my chest as I watched, I look at Daryl then he grabbed my face and kissed me. Unexpected, yes, but we almost just died so I didn't blame him because he beat me to it. I stared at him catching my breath then he turned and started the truck and we followed the others as we left the place we thought was our safe haven.


	3. Chapter 3

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

It's been days, maybe even weeks since the CDC, we pretty pretty much only had the clothes on our backs and our weapons. We were traveling for miles until gas became harder and harder to find so we dumped a few vehicles including Daryl's truck so I had to ride in the RV with Dale, Glenn, Andrea and Shane.

"Looks complicated." Andrea says to Shane as he sat there cleaning his gun

"The trick is getting all these pieces back together the same way, took Phoebe almost 2 weeks to get it down." He says and I glare at him

"Hey at least I was able to hit the target first day of the academy unlike someone" I tell him and he chuckled

"I could clean yours, show you how." He said to Andrea and reached into the bag grabbing her gun, "Oh yeah. It's a sweet piece."

"It was a gift from my father. He gave it to me just before Amy and I took off on our road trip. He said two girls on their own should be able to defend themselves."

"Smart man, your father. Look, it's a- it's a limited capacity. See? Only holds seven rounds." He pointed out

"Oh jeez." Dale says and I look out the window seeing nothing but cars, I hear Daryl's motorcycle pull up to Dale's window, we haven't really talked about what happened at the CDC, part of me hoped he didn't regret it, "See a way through?" Dale asked him and Daryl drove around then Dale followed him through the cars

"Uh, maybe we should just go back. There's an interstate bypass-" Glenn started to say looking at the map but Dale cut him off

"We can't spare the fuel." Just then the engine started sputtering then we stop and get out, "I said it. Didn't I say it? A thousand times. Dead in the water."

"Problem, Dale?" Shane asked him

"Just a small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of-" He paused looking around and Daryl walked over to the truck of a car I was at looking inside it, "Okay, that was dumb."

"If you can't find a radiator hose here..." Shane pointed out

"There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find." Daryl says rummaging through and I shook my head

"I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start." T-Dog mentioned

"I'll help you with that" I tell him and he nodded

"Maybe some water." My mom says

"Or food." Glenn added

"This is a graveyard." Lori says, "I don't know how I feel about this."

"All right, all right, here we go." T-Dog says and we head to get the gas cans and hoses

"Come on, y'all. Just look around, gather what you can." Shane tells us, me and T-Dog made our way through the cars, siphoning gas is gross especially when all you get is fumes.

Daryl popped open the tank cover of one car for T-Dog who then stuck the hose in and I used my knife to open another one as Daryl walked past me, I looked at him as he walked away and continued what I was doing.

"Hey, Carl. Always within my sight, okay?" I hear Lori tell him

"You too, Sophia, mine or sister's" My mom added and I moved to another car keeping my eye on my sister.

I finished siphoning a tank when I feel someone come up behind me putting their hand over my mouth, I looked at Daryl who shushed me and I saw a bunch of walkers coming towards us, he grabbed my hand and moved us around a car and I got under it then he took off. I looked out from underneath mine and saw my sister under one, I tried my hardest to see where Daryl went as I see walkers shuffle past me.

Everything got quiet and suddenly I hear Sophia start to cry and I see a walker trying to get her while she was under the car and she got out and ran to the woods, I quickly rolled out from under and ran after her.

I ran down the hill and see her running away from the walkers so I headed in another direction. I catch up to her and grabbed her, "Are you all right? Are you okay?"

"Shoot them!" She says reaching for my gun

"No. No! Those walkers on the road would hear it. Then it wouldn't be just two, it'd be hundreds. Come here. Come on." I tell her grabbing her hand and we ran reaching a river, "All right, just hold here. You stay there. Wait." I tell her and jump down into the water and reach for her bringing her down as well, "Sophia, you have to do exactly as I say. Hide in there. Squeeze in tight. I'll draw them away from you."

"No no, don't leave me." She begged and I put my hand on her face

"Listen listen listen listen. They don't get winded. I do. I can only deal with them one at a time. I wouldn't be able to protect you. This is how we both survive. You understand? Okay?" I asked her and she nodded her head, "Go go go go." I tell her and she climbed under the roots of a fallen down tree, "If I don't make it back, run back to the highway, back to mom straight the way we came. Keep the sun on your left shoulder. Remember I love you okay? Just stay quiet." I said and see the walkers coming so I splash the water at them getting their attention, "Come on! You ugly son of a bitch. Come on! Come on! Come on! Come on!" I yelled running away

I hid behind a tree as I hear them getting closer, I grabbed out my knife then moved out and stabbed the first one, then I picked up a big rock and threw it at the other knocking it down then killed that one as well.

* * *

"Sure this is the spot?" Daryl asked me looking under the tree root, when I got back to the spot and saw she was gone I ran back to the highway to get him, Glenn, Rick and Shane

"I left her right here. I drew the walkers way off in that direction up the creek." I replied pointing down the creek bed

"Without a paddle- seems where we've landed." Daryl says

"She was gone by the time I got back here. I figured she just took off and ran back to the group. I told her go that way and keep the sun on her left shoulder." I mentioned, my heart was racing, I needed to find my sister

"Hey, short round, why don't you step off to one side? You're mucking up the trail." Daryl tells Glenn

"Assuming she knows her left from her right." Shane told me

"Shane, she understood me fine."

"Kid's tired and scared, Phoebe. She had her a close call with two walkers. Got to wonder how much of what you said stuck." He added

"Got clear prints right here. She did like you said, headed back to the highway." Daryl tells me and climbed up the edge of the creek and reached his hand down to me helping me up

"Let's spread out, make our way back. She couldn't have gone far." Rick tells us

"Hey, we gonna find her. She'll be tuckered out hiding in a bush somewhere." Shane tried to reassure me but my stomach was in knots, I will never forgive myself if something happens to her

"She was doing just fine till right here. All she had to do was keep going. She veered off that way." Daryl pointed out as we followed him

"Why would she do that?" Glenn asked

"Maybe she saw something that spooked her, made her run off." Shane answered

"A walker?" I asked

"I don't see any other footprints. Just hers." Daryl replied

"So what do we do? All of us press on?" Shane asked Rick

"No, better if you, Phoebe and Glenn get back up to the highway. People are gonna start panicking. Let them know we're on her trail doing everything we can. But most of all, keep everybody calm."

"I'll keep 'em busy scavenging cars. Think up a few other chores. I'll keep 'em occupied. Come on." Shane says

"I'm going with Rick and Daryl," I tell them and Daryl looked at me, "She's my sister, I have to find her, I have to" I said and Daryl nodded

"Alright let's go" Rick says and we follow Daryl again

* * *

"Tracks are gone." Rick points out as we walk through the woods

"No, they're faint, but they ain't gone. She came through here." Daryl tells him

"How can you tell? I don't see anything. Dirt, grass."

"You want a lesson in tracking or you want to find that girl and get our ass off that interstate?" Daryl asked him and we continued walking when we hear leaves rustling, we crouch down then see a walker go by us, Daryl signaled us to get its attention and he went the other direction, me and Rick walk in front of it whistling at it then Daryl shot it and walked over taking his arrow out while Rick knelt next to the walker.

"Sophia!" Daryl yelled

"What are you looking for?" I asked Rick

"Skin under the fingernails. It fed recently. There's flesh caught in its teeth."

"Oh god" I mumbled and Daryl put his hand on my shoulder

"Yeah, what kind of flesh?" He asked Rick

"Only one way to know for sure." Rick said grabbing his knife

"Here, I'll do it." Daryl said stopping him grabbing his own knife, "How many kills you skin and gut in your life? Anyway, mine is sharper." He says and stabbed his knife into the walker's stomach cutting down over and over, "Now comes the bad part." He told us and reached his hands inside the walkers stomach, I put my hand over my mouth trying not to throw up, "Yeah, Hoss had a big meal not long ago. I feel it in there. Here's the gut bag." Daryl threw it on the ground

"I got this." Rick grabs his knife and cut into it then pulled out some other stuff then Daryl grabbed a tiny skull

"This gross bastard had himself a woodchuck for lunch." He said and I sighed in relief

"At least we know." Rick mentioned

"At least we know." Daryl agreed and looked at me, I gave a sad smile and they got up taking off the gloves they were wearing.

* * *

"You didn't find her?" My mom asked depressed as we climbed back up to the highway

"Her trail went cold. We'll pick it up again at first light." Rick told her as me and him climbed over the rail

"You can't leave my daughter out there on her own to spend the night alone in the woods."

"Out in the dark's no good. We'd just be tripping over ourselves. More people get lost." Daryl explained

"But she's 12. She can't be out there on her own. You didn't find anything?" My mom asked, it was killing me and all I wanted was to bring my sister back to her

"I know this is hard. But I'm asking you not to panic. We know she was out there. And we tracked her for a while. We have to make this an organized effort. Daryl knows the woods better than anybody. I've asked him to oversee this." Rick mentioned

"Is that blood?" She asked Daryl and I saw blood on his jeans

"We took down a walker." Rick tells her

"Walker? Oh my God." my mom groaned

"There was no sign it was ever anywhere near Sophia." I reassured her

"How can you know that?" Andrea asked

"We cut the son of a bitch open, made sure." Daryl told her

"Oh God." My mom said sitting on the rail and looked at me, "How could you just leave her out there to begin with? How could you just leave her? She's your sister." She says to me and I feel a pain go through my heart

"Those two walkers were on us. I had to draw them off. It was her best chance." I defended

"Sounds like she didn't have a choice, Carol." Shane tells her

"How was she supposed to find her way back on her own? She's just a child. She's just a child."

"It was my only option. The only choice I could make." I tell her fighting back tears

"I'm sure nobody doubts that." Lori says

"My little girl got left in the woods" My mom cried and I look at Daryl then walked away towards all the cars. My mom blamed me and I didn't blame her, I left my little sister alone, hiding and scared, now she was lost. I would give anything to trade places with her.

* * *

"Everybody takes a weapon." Rick says unrolling a satchel full off knives and hatchets

"These aren't the kind of weapons we need. What about the guns?" Andrea asked

"We've been over that. Daryl, Rick, Phoebe and I are carrying. We can't have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles." He told her

"It's not the trees I'm worried about."

"Say somebody fires at the wrong moment, a herd happens to be passing by. See, then it's game over for all of us. So you need to get over it." I tell her putting my gun in my holster

"The idea is to take the creek up about five miles, turn around and come back down the other side. Chances are she'll be by the creek. It's her only landmark." Daryl informed us

"Stay quiet and stay sharp. Keep space between you but always stay within sight of each other." Rick instructed

"Everybody assemble your packs." Shane tells us and I walked over to where we had water set up and grabbed a bottle putting it in my bag

"You okay?" Daryl asked me and I looked at him

"I have to be, it's the only way I'm gonna save my sister" I tell him and he put his hand on my shoulder

"No, Dale, you're doing it for you. You need to stop." We hear Andrea say and looked over at them, "What do you think's gonna happen? I'm gonna stick it in my mouth and pull the trigger the moment you hand it to me?" She asked him

"I know you're angry at me. That much is clear. But if I hadn't done what I did, you'd be dead now."

"Jenner gave us an option. I chose to stay." She says

"You chose suicide."

"So what's that to you? You barely know me." She mentioned

"I know Amy's death devastated you."

"Keep her out of this. This is not about Amy. This is about us. And if I decided that I had nothing left to live for, who the hell are you to tell me otherwise? To force my hand like that?" She asked him

"I saved your life."

"No, Dale. I saved yours. You forced that on me. I didn't want your blood on my hands and that is the only reason I left that building. What did you expect? What, I'd have some kind of epiphany? Some life-affirming catharsis?" She asks

"Maybe just a little gratitude."

"Gratitude? I wanted to die my way, not torn apart by drooling freaks. That was my choice. You took that away from me, Dale." She tells him

"But-"

"But you know better?" She asked cutting him off, "All I wanted after my sister died was to get out of this endless horrific nightmare we live every day. I wasn't hurting anyone else. You took my choice away, Dale. And you expect gratitude?"

"I don't know what to say."

"I'm not your little girl. I'm not your wife. And I am sure as hell not your problem. That's all there is to say." She says then walked away leaving him looking like a wounded puppy, I gave him a sad smile and we all walked off heading to the woods.

* * *

As we walked through the woods we came up on a tent and Daryl stopped us, "She could be in there" Shane pointed out

"Could be a whole bunch of things in there." Daryl added and the three of them moved forward to the tent as we followed slowly behind, Daryl grabbed out his knife and looked around trying to peak inside.

"Carol." Rick called and she walked over, "Call out softly. If she's in there, yours is the first voice she should hear."

"Sophia, sweetie, are you in there? Sophia, it's mommy. Sophia. We're all here, baby. It's mommy." She called and Daryl slowly unzipped the tent flap and they coughed and gagged then Daryl went in

"Daryl? Daryl?" I asked and he came out

"It ain't her." He said and I sighed

"What's in there?" Andrea asked

"Some guy. Did what Jenner said. Opted out. Ain't that what he called it?" He asked then we hear church bells ringing in the distance and we all start running

"What direction?" Shane asked

"I think that way. I'm pretty sure." Rick told him

"Damn, it's hard to tell out here."

"If we heard them, maybe Sophia did too." my mom pointed out

"Someone's ringing those bells, maybe calling others." Glenn says

"Or signaling they found her." Andrea added

"She could be ringing them herself." I mentioned and we started to run towards the sound coming up on a church with a cemetery in front of it

"That can't be it. Got no steeple, no bells." Shane says and I ran towards it anyway

"Phoebe" Daryl says but ignored him and ran up the steps and Daryl joined then Shane and Rick, I grabbed out my knife and we paused then opened the doors, there were walkers sitting in the pews and they stand up, I walked over to one and stabbed it in the head with my knife. I heard Daryl make kissing sounds then he stabbed on as well.

"Sophia!" Rick yelled opening a door then shutting it

"Yo, J.C., you taking requests?" Daryl asked the statue

"I'm telling you, it's the wrong church. It's got no steeple, Phoebe. There's no steeple." Shane says and the bells ring again, we run outside and move to the side of it seeing a speaker up top, Glenn opened the box and unplugged it

"A timer. It's on a timer." Daryl pointed out

"I'm gonna go back in for a bit." My mom says and headed inside and we followed

* * *

"Father, forgive me. I don't deserve your mercy. I prayed for safe passage from Atlanta and you provided. I prayed for Ed to be punished for laying his hands on me and for looking at his own daughters with whatever sickness was growing in his soul. I prayed you'd put a stop to it, give me a chance to raise them right, help them not make my mistakes. Sophia's so fearful. She's so young in her way. She hasn't had a chance. Praying for Ed's death was a sin. Please, don't let this be my punishment. Let her be safe, alive and safe. Please, lord. Punish me however you want, but show mercy on her." My mom prays and walked over sitting down next to Lori and I walked out of the church going over to a tree sitting in front of it then started to cry putting my head in my hands and I feel someone sit next to me pulling me into a hug, I look and saw it was Daryl. I honestly didn't even know what we were right now, but him comforting me was enough for now.

The others walk out of the church and I got up walking over to Rick then Shane joined us, "Got to move here, man. These people are spent. There's only so many hours of daylight left. We still got a long way back."

"I can't stop yet." I tell him

"We still got a lot of ground to cover, whole other side of the Creek Bed. So we search that on the way back."

"She would have heard those church bells. She could be nearby." Rick tells him taking my side

"She could be a lot of things."

"I can't go back. Her being out here is my fault." I said to Shane

"That's great. Now they got you doubting yourself, huh?"

"What about you? You doubt me?" I asked him

"Hey, we can assign all kinds of blame."

"This means something, finding her." Rick mentioned, "It would be the miracle we need. We can't give up." Rick says and Shane looked at me

"Okay then, but Phoebe I really think you should head back with the others just in case she shows up at the freeway, she's gonna need you and Carol" He says and I sighed looking over at my mom, I shook my head rolling my eyes

"Alright" I reluctantly agreed and we walked over to the others

"Y'all gonna follow the Creek Bed back, okay? Daryl, you're in charge. Me and Rick, we're just gonna hang back, search this area another hour or so just to be thorough." Shane informed them

"You're splitting us up. You sure?" Daryl asked him

"Yeah, we'll catch up to you."

"I want to stay too. I'm her friend." Carl says and I smiled

"Just be careful, okay?" Lori asked him

"I will."

"When did you start growing up?" She asks kissing the top of his head

"I'll be along soon enough. Here, take this. Remember how to use it?" He asked her handing her his gun

"I'm not taking your gun and leaving you unarmed."

"Here, got a spare. Take it." Daryl told her handing one to her, where did he get that?

TWD

"So this is it? This the whole plan?" My mom asked stopping to rest on a fallen tree

"I guess the plan is to whittle us down into smaller and smaller groups." Daryl tells her as I take a drink of water

"Carrying knives and pointy sticks. I see you have a gun." Andrea says to Lori

"Why, you want it? Here, take it." She tells her handing the gun over, "I'm sick of the looks you're giving me. All of you." She says sitting down on the same tree, "Honey, I can't imagine what you're going through. And I would do anything to stop it. But you have got to stop blaming Phoebe. It is in your face every time you look at her. When Sophia ran she didn't hesitate, did she? Not for a second. I don't know that any of us would have gone after her the way she did" Lori said to her and my mom looked at me and reached her hand out for me to grab, I walked over grabbing it sitting next to her and she pulled me into a hug, "Or made the hard decisions that Rick has had to make or that anybody could have done it any differently. Anybody? If you think you can do this without him, go right ahead. Nobody is stopping you." Lori tells us then took a drink

Andrea handed the gun back to her, "We should keep moving"

* * *

"You still worrying about it?" Andrea asked and I look to see Lori looking behind us

"It was a gunshot."

"We all heard it." Daryl pointed out

"Why one- Why just one gunshot?" Lori asked

"Maybe they took down a walker." He told her

"Please don't patronize me. You know Rick wouldn't risk a gunshot to put down one walker, or Shane. They'd do it quietly."

"Shouldn't they have caught up with us by now?" My mom asked

"There's nothing we can do about it, anyway. Can't run around these woods chasing echoes." Daryl mentioned

"So, what do we do?" Lori asked him

"Same as we've been. Beat the bush for Sophia, work our way back to the highway."

"I'm sure they'll hook up with us back at the RV." Andrea says and looked at my mom, "I'm sorry for what you're going through. I know how you feel."

"I suppose you do- Thank you. The thought of her, out here by herself... It's the not knowing that's killin' me. I just keep hopin' and prayin' she doesn't wind up like Amy." My mom said and looked at Andrea, "Oh, God! That's the worst thing I ever said."

"We're all hoping and praying with you, for what it's worth."

"I'll tell ya what it's worth- Not a damn thing. It's a waste of time, all this hopin' and prayin'. We're gonna locate that little girl. She's gonna be just fine. Am I the only one zen around here? Good lord." Daryl tells them and I gave a light chuckle smiling.

My mom walked over to me and I looped my arm through hers and rested my head on her shoulder, "We'll find her mom, I promise" I tell her and she stopped then pulled me into a hug.

"I'm sorry for blaming you sweetie, you did what you could to keep her safe, you always have. She's so lucky to have you as a big sister."

"I'll always protect her, and you, no matter what" I said and we continued walking.

"Is there something going on with you and Daryl?" She asked me and I looked at her then the others, they were up aways so they didn't hear us.

"I honestly don't know." I tell her and she grabbed my hand giving it a squeeze

"Try talking to him" She says and I look at Daryl as he walked then we all stopped

"We'll lose the light before too long. I think we should call it." Daryl tells us

"Let's head back." Lori agreed

"We'll pick it up again tomorrow?" My mom asked her

"Yeah, we'll find her tomorrow."

* * *

"How much farther?" Lori asked Daryl as we continued walking

"Not much... Maybe a hundred yards as the crow flies."

"Too bad we're not crows." Andrea says and I see her walk into a spider web, "Oh... Oh! As the crow flies, my ass."

Just then we hear her scream, "Andrea?" My mom yelled and we run over to her and see someone ride over on a horse hitting the walker with a bat

"Lori? Lori grimes?"

"I'm Lori." She tells the girl

"Rick sent me- You've got to come now."

"What?" Lori asked

"There's been an accident- Carl's been shot. He's still alive but you've gotta come now. Rick needs you- Just come!" The girl says to Lori and she takes off her backpack handing it to me and rushed over to the girl

"Whoa-whoa-whoa! We don't know this girl. You can't get on that horse." Daryl tells her but she ignored him getting on the horse

"Rick said you had others on the highway, that big traffic snarl?" The girl asked and I looked at a love struck Glenn

"Uh-huh."

"Backtrack to Fairburn road. Two miles down is our farm. You'll see the mailbox- Name's Greene- Hi-yah!" She urged the horse and they took off, then the walker she hit sat up wheezing

"Shut up." Daryl says shooting it in the head

* * *

"Shot? What do ya mean shot?"

"I don't know, Dale. I wasn't there. All I know is this chick rode out of nowhere like Zorro on a horse and took Lori." Glenn told him

"You let her?" Dale asked Daryl

"Climbed down out of my asshole, man. Rick sent her. She knew Lori's name and Carl's."

"I heard screams- Was that you?" Dale asked Andrea as she walked past him

"She got attacked by a walker. It was a close call." I tell him

"Andrea, are you all right?" He asked her and she looked at him then walked into the RV shutting the door

* * *

"I won't do it. We can't just leave." My mom says to Dale

"Carol, the group is split. We're scattered and weak."

"What if she comes back and we're not here? It could happen." She says and I wrapped my arm around her shoulder

"If Sophia found her way back and we were gone, that would be awful." Andrea agreed

"Okay. We gotta plan for this. I say tomorrow morning is soon enough to pull up stakes. Give us a chance to rig a big sign, leave her some supplies. I'll hold here tonight, stay with the RV." Daryl pointed out

"If the RV is stayin', I am too." Dale adds

"I'm staying too," I said and my mom smiled at us

"Thank you." She says to us and we look at Andrea.

"I'm in."

"Well, if you're all staying then I'm-"

"Not you, Glenn-" Dale tells him cutting him off, "You're going. Take-take Carol's Cherokee."

"Me? Why is it always me?" Glenn asked him

"You have to find this farm, reconnect with our people and see what's going on- But most important, you have to get T-Dog there. This is not an option. That cut has gone from bad to worse. He has a very serious blood infection. Get him to that farm. See if they have any antibiotics. Because if not, T-Dog will die, no joke."

I see Daryl walk over to his bike and grabbed a rag off it then pulled something out of his satchel, "Keep your oily rags off my brother's motorcycle. Why'd you wait till now to say anything? Got my brother's stash. Crystal, x- Don't need that. Got some kick ass painkillers. Doxycycline. Not the generic stuff neither. It's first class. Merle got the clap on occasion." He says and I just shook my head

* * *

Later that night I was sitting on the steps of the RV staring out at the woods while Andrea fiddled with her gun, Daryl laid on the floor and my mom was on the bed in the back crying, "I need my clip now." I hear Daryl tell Andrea and I looked back at him as he looked at my mom, "I'm gonna walk the road, look for the girl." He says heading to the steps and I stand up as he walked out

"I'm coming too." I tell him and he looked at me then nodded as I grabbed my bag and my knife

"I'm going for a walk. Shine some light in the forest. If she's out there, give her something to look at." Daryl tells Dale who's on top of the RV

"Do you think that's a good idea right now?" He asked and I looked at him

"I can't sit here and wait anymore" I said to him and we walked into the woods

* * *

As we walked through the woods I kept biting my tongue trying to avoid asking him the question that's been bothering me so I thought of something else to say, "I really hope we find her." I said breaking the silence

"It ain't the mountains of Tibet. It's Georgia. She could be holed up in a farmhouse somewhere. People get lost and they survive. It happens all the time."

"She's only 12." I point out to him

"Hell, I was younger than her and I got lost. Nine days in the woods eating berries, wiping my ass with poison oak."

"They found you?" I asked him

"My old man was off on a bender with some waitress. Merle was doing another stint in juvie. Didn't even know I was gone. I made my way back though. Went straight into the kitchen and made myself a sandwich. No worse for wear. Except my ass itched something awful." He says and I started laughing

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, that is a terrible story." I tell him and he started to laugh too

"Only difference is Sophia's got people looking for her. I call that an advantage." He mentioned

Screw it, "Daryl, about what happened at the CDC and after. Do you um..."

"Think about it?" He asked finishing the question for me

"Yeah"

"Haven't stopped" He says and I stop and look at him

"Do you regret it?"

He turned and looked at me, "Why would I regret it?"

"I don't know, we haven't really talked about it at all and now with what's happening with my sister I just.." I paused and sighed, "I'm just not sure what that means or well I guess I'm just trying to..." I started to say and he moved over to me and kissed me, I kissed back and he pulled away but stayed close

"I like you, always have. Just hard for me to express that." He says and I put my hand on his face

"Sorry if I put you on the spot" I tell him and he put his hand on the back of my head pulling me against him

"Don't be, I feel better talking to you."

"So does this mean we're going steady?" I asked with a smirk and he scoffed then kissed me again but this time it was passionate and I put my fingers in his hair as he wrapped his arm around my waist trying to pull me closer to him then I was and I feel him run his tongue along my bottom lip, I open my mouth and he pushed in, I couldn't help but moan into his mouth but suddenly he pulled away.

"Really shouldn't do this here" He pointed out and I smiled

"Probably not" I said agreeing and he kissed me once more and we continued walking but my heart wouldn't stop racing.

After a while we hear rustling and Daryl raised his crossbow in the direction it came from and we moved towards it then saw a tent, "What the hell?" Daryl asked as we see a walker hanging from a tree gagging "Got bit. Fever hit. World gone to shit. Might as well quit." Dumbass didn't know enough to shoot himself in the head. Turned himself into a big swinging piece of bait. And a mess." He says and I looked away and groaned, "You all right?" He asked putting his hand on my back

"Trying not to puke."

"Go ahead if you gotta." He says rubbing my back

"No, I'm fine. Let's just talk about something else for a minute. How'd you learn to shoot?" I asked him, I've known him for a while now but I never thought to ask him that

"Gotta eat. That's one thing these walkers and us have in common. I guess it's the closest he's been to food since he turned. Hanging up there like a big pinata. The other geeks came and ate all the flesh off his legs." He points out and I looked at the gnawed on legs the threw up

"I thought we were changing the subject." I tell him as he handed me a rag and I wiped my mouth

"Call that payback for laughing about my itchy ass."

I looked at him and chuckled, "There wasn't a lot that came up."

"Let's head back."

"Aren't you gonna..." I indicated to the walker

"No. He ain't hurting nobody. Ain't gonna waste an arrow either. He made his choice. Opted out. Let him hang." He says and held out his hand, I smiled and grabbed it then we made our way back.

* * *

We get back to the highway and Daryl went over the railing forest then I stepped over feeling him put his hands on my hips, "Watch those hands mister" I smirked at him and he raised his hands in defeat while smirking and we walked to the RV, I had seen my mom walk in and I looked at Daryl then followed her.

She was laying on the bed and cried again, it broke my heart, I laid down behind her and wrapped my arm around her, "I'm sorry mom, I'm so sorry, but I promise you I won't stop until we find her." I tell her and she grabbed my hand continuing to cry, I feel tears in my eyes as well. I mean it, I'm not stopping until my sister is back in our arms.


	4. Chapter 4

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

The next day we headed to the farmhouse that the others were at, I was driving Shane's car following Daryl and Dale was in the RV behind me. As we pulled up to the house and I saw Glenn and Shane standing there with 3 people I didn't recognize, I got out and looked over at Shane, "What's up farmer Shane?" I asked with a smile and he gave a small smile and looked down as Rick, Lori, T-Dog and 2 more people walked out of the house.

"How is he?" Dale asked them

"He'll pull through, thanks to Hershel and his people." Lori answered

"And Shane. We'd have lost Carl if not for him." Rick added and Dale moved over and hugged him as me and my mom went and hugged Lori

"Thank God. We were so worried." My mom says

"How'd it happen?" I asked

"Hunting accident. That's all... Just a stupid accident." Rick replied

* * *

We all stand by the grave for a man named Otis, the guy who accidentally shot Carl and went with Shane to get the stuff they needed to save Carl, I was standing next to Daryl who held my hand.

"Blessed be God, father of our lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to him for the gift of our brother Otis, for his span of years, for his abundance of character; Otis, who gave his life to save a child's, now more than ever, our most precious asset. We thank you, God, for the peace he enjoys in your embrace. He died as he lived, in Grace." Hershel finished and looked at Shane "Shane, will you speak for Otis?" He asked him

"I'm not good at it. I'm sorry."

"You were the last one with him. You shared his final moments. Please. I need to hear. I need to know his death had meaning." Patricia tells him

"Okay. We were about done. Almost out of ammo. We were down to pistols by then. I was limping. It was bad. Ankle all swollen up. "We've got to save the boy." See, that's what he said. He gave me his backpack. He shoved me ahead. "Run," he said. He said, "I'll take the rear. I'll cover you." And when I looked back... If not for Otis, I'd have never made it out alive. And that goes for Carl too. It was Otis. He saved us both. If any death ever had meaning, it was his." Shane says and I look at him, seeing him shift and avoid eye contact, he was hiding something.

* * *

"How long has this girl been lost?" Hershel asked Rick as we gathered around the hood of my mom's jeep and Hershel's daughter Maggie walked over with a map

"This'll be day three."

"County survey map. Shows terrain and elevations." She tells us placing it on the hood

"This is perfect. We can finally get this thing organized. We'll grid the whole area, start searching in teams." Rick tells us

"Not you. Not today. You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking five minutes in this heat before passing out." He tells Rick then looked at Shane, "And your ankle... Push it now, you'll be laid up a month, no good to anybody."

"Guess it's just me. I'm gonna head back to the creek, work my way from there." Daryl says

"I'll join you" I tell him and he looked at me but then nodded putting his hand on my back

"I can still be useful. I'll drive up to the interstate, see if Sophia wandered back." Shane mentioned

"All right, tomorrow then. We'll start doing this right."

"That means we can't have our people out there with just knives. They need the gun training we've been promising them." Shane says

"I'd prefer you not carrying guns on my property. We've managed so far without turning this into an armed camp." Hershel tells him

"All due respect, you get a crowd of those things wandering in here..."

"Look, we're guests here. This is your property and we will respect that." Rick said cutting Shane off and he put his gun on the car, Shane sighed and put his on there as well, I went to grab mine but Rick stopped me, "You hold on to yours for now because you're going out there," I nodded at him, "First things first: Set camp, find Sophia."

"I hate to be the one to ask, but somebody's got to and I'm sorry Phoebe. What happens if we find her and she's bit? I think we should all be clear on how we handle that." He brought up and I closed my eyes, I didn't want to think about that, Daryl rubbed my back and I looked at Shane

"You do what has to be done." Rick says and looked at me

"And my mom? What do you tell her?" I asked him

"The truth."

"I'll gather and secure all the weapons. Make sure no one's carrying till we're at a practice range off site" Shane tells us, "I do request one rifleman on lookout. Dale's got experience." Shane says to Hershel

"Our people would feel safer, less inclined to carry a gun." Rick agreed and Hershel hesitated then nodded, "Thank you." Rick says then me, Shane and Daryl walked away

"Are you sure you wanna go?" Daryl asked me and I looked at him

"I'm sure, I promised my mom I wouldn't stop looking and I wont. She's my baby sister Daryl, I have to find her."

"Alright, just don't want to see you in danger or get hurt." He says and I kissed him on the cheek

"Don't worry, I got a strong man looking out for me." I said with a smirk

"Who's that?"

"Well Shane of course, who do you think I would be talking about?" I said then suddenly he pulled me to him

"You think you're funny, you're my girl, no one elses" He tells me and I smile at him

"As long as you want me."

"I always want you, always have." He says and kissed me

"Right back at ya" I said and kissed him again before walking over to my mom, "I'm gonna go with Daryl mom, to continue looking." I tell her and she looked at me then him

"Be safe?" She asked and I hugged her

"I always am" I say and walked away with Daryl

* * *

"Daryl, Phoebe." Rick called to us and he walked over, "You two okay on your own?" He asked

"We got it, two people are better then one. I'll be back before dark." Daryl says to him

"Hey. We got a base. We can get this search properly organized now."

"You got a point or are we just chatting?" Daryl asked him and I lightly smacked his arm

"My point is it lets you off the hook. You don't owe us anything."

"My other plans fell through." Daryl tells him and walked away, I gave Rick a small smile and ran to catch up

"Are you ever gonna forgive him?" I asked him

"Don't know." He grumbled and we headed to the woods

* * *

After what felt like an hour walking we emerged from some trees and saw a farmhouse, "What do you think?" I asked him

"Might be worth a look." He says taking his crossbow off his shoulder and loaded it as I grabbed my knife, I couldn't help but get distracted though when I saw him holding his crossbow because lifting it showed his arm muscles, I shook my head though and focused as we headed to the house. Daryl raised his crossbow up and kicked the door open, we slowly walked in, he checked one room and I checked another then moved forward, he checked another room and I looked into the kitchen

"Psst" I whispered to him and he moved over looking up the stairs then followed me into the kitchen, he checked the room off from the kitchen and I saw something in the trash, "Hey" I tell him and held up the open can of sardines, he smelled it then moved his eyes past me and nodded his head in the direction he was looking. I turned and saw a cabinet, I walked over and stood at the door, he nodded his head and I opened it, we saw blankets and a pillow tucked in the corner like someone was sleeping in there, I looked at him and he put his hand on my shoulder.

We made our way out the back door and I looked around, "Sophia!" I yelled as Daryl walked over to a bush with some flowers on it, he cut two by the stem and handed one to me, I smiled at him and we started to make our way back.

* * *

When we got back Dale told us my mom was in the RV so we walked in and I noticed it looked nicer then it was, "I cleaned up, wanted it to look nice for her she says and I walked over to her and sat down next to her.

"For a second I thought I was in the wrong place." He says to her and I gave a small chuckle then he put the other flower he picked on the counter in a bottle he found

"A flower?" my mom asked and looked at the same one I was holding

"It's a Cherokee rose. The story is that when American soldiers were moving Indians off their land on the trail of tears the Cherokee mothers were grieving and crying so much 'cause they were losing their little ones along the way from exposure and disease and starvation. A lot of them just disappeared. So the elders, they said a prayer; asked for a sign to uplift the mothers' spirits, give them strength and hope. The next day this rose started to grow right where the mothers' tears fell. I'm not fool enough to think there's any flowers blooming for my brother. But I believe this one bloomed for your little girl." He tells her and she gave a sad laugh wiping a tear away as I rubbed her back, "She's gonna really like it in here." He tells her and nodded at me then left.

"Nothing?" My mom asked

"We got a clue but we'll have to follow it tomorrow."

My mom sighed and went back to sewing, "I see he's making you happy" She told me and I looked at her confused

"How did you.."

"A mother always knows," She says and I smiled, "Plus I saw you two before you left after you all talked."

"Oh" I said and she looked at me

"He's a good guy, even if he doesn't show it to anyone but you."

"He really is" I agreed and stood up walking out of the RV

* * *

That night after everyone had gone to bed except Dale I walked over to my tent which I had moved just far enough away from the others, I unzipped the flap and walked in then closed it, I sighed and started to undress, as I was just about to put my shirt on there was a knock in the tent flap, I pulled my shirt over my head and opened it seeing Daryl, "Hey" I said and moved aside as he walked in.

"You okay?"

"Why do you always ask me that?" I asked and he walked over

"Because I know how hard this is for you, I care about you."

I put my hand on his face and smiled, "Thank you, I'm doing ok, or well trying to be."

he put his hands on my hips and I wrapped my arms around his neck, "I'm always here, don't forget that"

"I won't and I love you for that I just..." I stopped after I realized what I said, "Sorry"

"Don't be, I love ya too" He says and my heart skipped

"Really? Because I feel like it's to early for us to say that and we just..." I got cut off when he crashed his lips onto mine and I started to kiss him back, "Is that your only way of stopping my rambling?" I asked him and he smirked

"I can think of another way," He says and kissed me again but this time he ran his hands up my side going under my shirt, I moaned into his mouth and he pulled me closer to him and moved his tongue into my mouth, I moaned again and he moved us backwards to my sleeping bag laying us down with him above me, he pulled away and looked at me, "We don't have to if you don't want to." He tells me and I kissed him

"Who says I don't want to"

He smirked and kissed me again and it grew more passionate as he positioned himself between my legs. I felt his hand slowly trace up and down my inner thigh, as he moved his mouth from mine down to my neck and he sucked at it but not hard enough to leave a mark, I let out a soft moan and he gripped my thigh.

He brought his arm up and held himself up above me. He looked deep into my eyes, ready to stop if there was any hint of hesitation but I kissed him and pulled away biting his lower lip and he growled the kissed me fiercely moving his hand up my shirt again and pulled it over my head throwing it to the side and I reached my hands up unbuttoning his throwing it as well, his hand lightly squeezed my breast and I moaned feeling the bulge in his pants push against my center. I moved my nails lightly down his chest and went to the waist line of his pants undoing the buckle the the button and zipper pushing them down with his underwear. He followed my lead and pulled my pj pants and underwear off too then looked at me trailing his eyes over my body, I felt exposed, not just because I was now naked but I was naked in front of him, we were seeing each other like this for the first time and my heart was beating so hard I thought it was gonna bust out of my chest.

His fingers found my moist center breaking me out of my thoughts and he softly pressed down onto my clit. I gasped and kissed him furiously. He circled it and noticed that I was growing wetter, "You ready?" He asked me, searching my eyes still for uncertainty. I nodded my head and kissed him again. Our tongues melded together passionately. I wasn't going to turn back now. The heat between them was like an untamed fire. I shot my head back head as I felt him push slowly into me. I released a small yelp as he entered, not realizing how big he was. He quickly pulled out "Did I hurt you?" He asked

"No it's okay. Don't stop." I reassured him. He moved back in between my legs and entered me again, cautiously and even slower than before. I winced slightly as he pushed inside me and I allowed my muscles to relax.

Daryl looked into my eyes as he slowly began moving himself in and out. I had never experienced sex that felt this way, wanted and loved. I wrapped my legs tightly around his waist as our bodies rocked together. I moved my hips to match his pace, my moans grew louder as he repeatedly hit my g spot with each thrust so I bit my lip trying to be quiet. I was growing wetter with each push, my hands wrapped around his waist as I pushed him deeper inside me. I grabbed his hair and pulled his head close to my lips, "Faster…Harder…" I managed to whisper, the pleasure I was feeling made it difficult to form a sentence.

He pumped into me harder and rapidly, He bit his lip hard enough to bring blood to keep himself from finishing, his one hand gripped my thigh and the other was tangled in my hair, "Oh..Daryl..." I moaned quietly and he looked at me then moved his mouth to my ear

"Say that again," He growled in my ear then lightly bit it sending shocks throughout my body and I got even more turned on

"Daryl...OH!" I moaned as he pushed into me even faster and I gripped his back, I felt him tense but I knew about his scars, he told me about what his father used to do and I think that's what made us start to get close because we both had horrible fathers. I couldn't hold back anymore and my back arched as my orgasm sent waves through my body and my moans turned to silent screams of pleasure. After a few more pushes and grunts I felt him twitch inside me as his body bucked as he came. He grunted loudly as I felt his body convulse. He collapsed on top of me and he looked at me moving some hair out of my face then kissed me.

He rolled off of me and we both tried to catch our breath, I turned over to look at him and he looked at me. He put his hand on my face before kissing me on my lips, I put my head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around me after pulling the blanket over us.

"I think you are just to good for me Mr. Dixon" I tell him and he scoffed

"Nah, you're the one that's to good for me."

"How so?" I asked propping up on my elbow looking at him.

"Beautiful, smart, tough, amazing. Guy like me would never have stood a chance with you before the world ended up like it did. You're to wonderful for a lowlife like me."

"Hey, you are not a lowlife, you are an amazing man who has a good heart but is afraid to show it to anyone but me, I love you Daryl Dixon and have since day one. You don't need to prove yourself to me and you sure as hell aren't anything less then a kind hearted man who cares about people." I tell him and he pulled me to him kissing me again and I put my fingers in his hair, "Better stop doing that, we don't have enough strength to go another round."

"Sorry, you're just so amazing." He says and kissed me again then I laid back down in his arms and we fell asleep

* * *

The next morning I woke up feeling Daryl run his hand lightly up and down my back then he stopped, "What's that from?" He asked me and I moved my hand to his feeling the old scar I had

I turned to face him and he put his hand on my hip, "A week after me, Shane and Rick graduated from the academy I was with my partner when we got a call about a robbery, we get there and the guy ran but I followed him into an alley behind the store, we got into a struggle and he knocked my gun away, I went to reach for it but he stabbed me in that spot and ran. I was in surgery for about 2 hours, my mom, Sophia and my dad were in the waiting room with my partner. The doctor said I was lucky because a couple more inches to the left and I would have been dead." I tell him as he was tracing circles on my hip

"I'm sorry that happened"

"Eh it's ok, they caught the guy and he went to jail so it's all good." I point out and he gave a small smile and kissed me then rolled us so he was on top, "Are you trying to seduce me Mr. Dixon?"

"Maybe." He says and kissed my neck pushing into me and we had sex again but this time a little more quiet because I knew everyone would be waking up.

After we were done I stood in my tent putting new clothes on as he put his outfit from last night on, after I got my socks on I looked at his as he pulled on his boots and I smiled at him, he looked at me and grabbed my hand pulling me down so I was straddling his lap.

"Um excuse me sir it's time for us to start the day." I tell him and he chuckled then kissed my collar bone

"I love you"

I smiled and kissed him, "I love you too, now quit distracting me or I'll have to punish you."

He pulled me against him gripping my butt, "What kind of punishment?"

I smirked and reached my hands down and unbuttoned a couple from the top of my shirt, kissed him passionately then got up and walked to the flap, "Give you something you can look at but can't touch." I said with a seductive grin as I walked out and heard him cuss under his breath then followed me out shortly after.

* * *

 _ **Flashback...**_

I stood at the back of my mom's Cherokee while Sophia and a boy named Carl were playing checkers, we hear helicopters in the distance, "Are we gonna go soon?" My sister asked

"I don't know, baby. I sure hope so." My mom answered and I put my hand on her shoulder

"I'm hungry." Carl says to his mom

"I know, Carl. We all are." his mom Lori told him

"Why don't I get him something to eat? Ed's into all this survival stuff. We've got enough MREs to feed a small army." My mom says and I watch her walk past me over to the side of the car my dad was at

"I'd sure appreciate it." Lori tells her

"No trouble." My mom replied opening the door but my dad shut it

"What in the hell did you tell her that for? We don't even know these damn people."

"That boy is hungry. We can spare one box." My mom said to him

"It's called operational security. How long do you think this stuff is gonna last if you keep running your damn mouth off to everybody we meet?" He asked her

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking." She says and walked away as I glared at my dad, "Ed must have forgot to pack those MREs. I found these in my purse." My mom told Lori holding up a granola bar that she gave to Carl.

"It's all right. Listen, do you mind keeping an eye on Carl for a minute?" Lori asked her

"No."

"Shane and I are gonna go scout up ahead a little bit and see if we can find someone that knows what's going on." Lori tells Carl

"I want to come with you." He said to her

"Huh-uh. Huh-uh."

"Hey, we'll be back before you know it. Okay, little man, huh?" Shane asked him and I gave him a smile and they walked away

"Your dad's nice." Sophia says to Carl

"Shane's not my dad. My dad's dead." He told her and I sighed, Shane told them and me that as we met up after getting our stuff together. Just then we hear and explosion in the distance and my mom pulled Sophia and Carl to her and I went over to Shane's vehicle and climbed up onto the roof seeing helicopters go by and saw the explosions off in the distance

"Oh my god" I said in a whisper, I knew what they were doing

"Phoebe? What is it?" My mom asked and I climbed down off the roof

"Their dropping napalm" I told her then put my hand over my mouth and walked away facing the woods, I wiped the tears away and I feel someone looking at me. I turned my head and saw a guy with short brown hair leaning against a truck look at me then another guy walk over to him telling him something and I walked back to my mom and sister and my mom pulled me into a hug.

* * *

 _ **Now...**_

"Alright everyone's getting new search grids today. If she made it as far as the farmhouse Daryl and Phoebe found, she might have gone further east than we've been so far." Rick tells us as we gather around the hood of my mom's car

"I'd like to help. I know the area pretty well and stuff." Jimmy told him

"Hershel's okay with this?"

"Yeah yeah. He said I should ask you." He replied, _liar_

"All right then. Thanks."

"Nothing about what Daryl and Phoebe found screams Sophia to me. Anyone could have been holed up in that farmhouse."

"Anybody includes her, right?" I asked him

"Whoever slept in that cupboard was no bigger than yay-high." Daryl pointed out

"It's a good lead." I add

"Maybe we'll pick up her trail again." Rick mentioned

"No maybe about it. I'm gonna borrow a horse, head up to this ridge right here, take a bird's-eye view of the whole grid. If she's up there, I'll spot her."

"I'll head to the highway and see if she went there at all then double back to the woods and look around." I told Rick and Daryl looked at me

"By yourself?" Rick asked me

"I'll take T-Dog."

"Good idea." He says and I looked at Daryl who nodded

"Daryl maybe you'll see your chupacabra up there too." T-Dog told Daryl

"Chupacabra?" Rick asked and I chuckled

"You never heard this? Our first night in camp, Daryl tells us that the whole thing reminds him of a time when he went squirrel hunting and he saw a chupacabra." Dale tells him and Jimmy laughed

"What are you braying at, jackass?" Daryl asked him

"You believe in a blood-sucking dog?"

"Do you believe dead people walking around?" Daryl asks and I lightly smack his arm

I see Jimmy reach for a gun and Rick quickly pulled it away, "Hey hey. Ever fire one before?"

"Well, if I'm going out, I want one." Jimmy says

"Yeah, and people in hell want slurpees." Daryl tells him putting his crossbow over his shoulder and I shook my head putting my gun in it's holster and followed him

"Don't be rude" I said to him as we walked to the stables

"You sure about going to the highway?" He asked me and I nodded

"I'll be fine, I'll have T-Dog."

"Better button those so he doesn't look" He told me indicating to my shirt

"If I do that how else am I going to torture you?" I asked him and he put his crossbow down grabbed my hips and spung me around so my back was pressed against the wall of the stable and he pushed against me

"I don't need anyone looking at my girl but me." He said in a gruff voice and I ground my hips into him and he groaned

"Don't worry, you're the only one who gets to do anything me.

"Anything?" He asked and I nodded biting my lip, he brought his mouth to my neck lightly breathing on it then pulled away, "Payback" He whispered in my ear and walked away to the saddles

"Oh I'm so getting you back for that Mr. Dixon." I said and he smirked, "But hey, be careful." I tell him putting my hand on his shoulder, he grabbed it kissing my palm

"I will be, I got a girl to come back to."

"Well I hope she's worth it." I said and he finished saddling up the horse and kissed me

"She is" He says and climbed on then took off.

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

I was riding through the woods on one of Hershel's horses, I didn't even ask if I could use one, I just saddled it up and took off. After I shot a squirrel and pulled it off the tree my mind went to Phoebe, I was still amazed that I finally had her, she was the most beautiful woman I laid my eyes on, like that night I saw her on the highway when this all began. I don't why I am able to open up to her, but the first day we talked I felt like I could, she opened up something in me and I will do what I can to show her I love her and try to protect her. I was taken out of my thoughts when I looked down the ridge and saw a doll down by the water, I hopped off the horse then took my crossbow off and made my way down over to it and picked it up, "Sophia!" I called but got nothing so I made my way back up and got on the horse. Some birds flew up from the ground and the horse started to spook, "Whoa. Easy easy." I tell it and ushered it to move again but suddenly and snake popped up from the ground scaring the horse and it started bucking, "Whoa whoa whoa." I said but next thing I knew I got flung off rolling down the ridge and sliding down the little water fall. I laid there trying not to move as one of my handmade bolts was stuck in my side, "Son of a bitch."

I managed to get up and made my way over to the sand taking out my knife and cutting the sleeves of my shirt off tying them together then tying it around my waist and around the arrow, fuck it hurt like hell. I looked up the ridge, I had a hell of a climb to go, I held my side and stood up grabbing a stick to support myself but then I hear a rustling sound from next to me in the woods, I reached behind me for my crossbow but realized it wasn't there so I made my way back over to the water using the stick to look for it. I finally found it and lifted it out of the water, I made my way out of the water again and stood at the base of the ridge then started climbing.

I looked down at one point seeing how high up I was then looked up, "Oh, come on. You've done half. Stop being such a pussy. Come on." I told myself then I pushed myself to grab hold of another tree but my foot slid a little on the dirt, I tried again but lost my footing and started to roll down the hill landing back at the bottom of the ridge knocking myself out.

"Why don't you pull that arrow out, dummy? You could bind your wound better." I hear my brother's voice tell me as I came to

"Merle."

"What's going on here? You taking a siesta or something?" He asked

"A shitty day, bro."

"Like me to get your pillow? Maybe rub your feet?" He asks

"Screw you."

"Huh-uh. You're the one screwed from the looks of it. All them years I spent trying to make a man of you, this is what I get? Look at you. Lying in the dirt like a used rubber. You're gonna die out here, brother. And for what?" He asked me

"A girl. They lost a little girl." I tell him

"So you got a thing for little girls now? Or are you doing this because you're banging her sister?"

"Shut up." I said

"'Cause I noticed you ain't out looking for old Merle no more."

"Tried like hell to find you, bro." I pointed out

"Like hell you did. You split, man. Lit out first chance you got."

"You lit out. All you had to do was wait. We went back for you. Rick and I, we did right by you." I argued

"This the same Rick that cuffed me to the rooftop in the first place? Forced me to cut off my own hand? This him we're talking about here? You his bitch now?" He asked me

"I ain't nobody's bitch."

"You're Phoebe's bitch, she has got you wrapped around her finger. You're a joke is what you are, playing errand boy to a bunch of pansy-asses, niggers and democrats. You're nothing but a freak to them. Redneck trash. That's all you are. They're laughing at you behind your back. You know that, don't you? I got a little news for you, son. One day they gonna scrape you off their heels like you was dog shit." He says and I start to drift off again but he smacked my chest, "Hey. They ain't your kin, your blood. Hell, you had any damn nuts in that sack of yours, you'd got back there and shoot your pal Rick in the face for me. Now you listen to me. Ain't nobody ever gonna care about you except me, little brother. Come on, get up on your feet before I have to kick your teeth in." He stands up and kicked my foot then grabbed it, "Let's go."

He continued pulling on my foot but when I came to I see a walker trying to bite at my foot through my boot, I scrambled and kicked it in the head, as I reached for my crossbow it landed on me and I hit it in the side a few times then the face and rolled both of us over, it grabbed at my head rolling us back and I kicked it off then stood up seeing another one coming, I hit the one in front on me with a long stick knocking it back then I tackled it to the ground and smashed his head with the stick. As the other one gets closer I grab the arrow in my side pulling it out the front trying to ignore the pain, grabbed my crossbow, knocked the arrow and shot it in the head.

I sat at the bottom of the ridge taking my top shirt off, folded it and pressed it to the wound then tied it , "Son of a bitch was right." I said and moved to a log sitting down then cutting the squirrel open and started to eat the raw meat. I grabbed the doll, took the strings out of my boots, then cut the ears off the walkers putting them on the string then around my neck looking up at the ridge and started to climb again.

I hear some birds squawk and I look up, "Please, don't feed the birds." I hear Merle's voice again and I see him at the top, "What's the matter, Darylina? That all you got in you? Throw away that purse and climb."

"I liked it better when you was missing."

"Come on, don't be like that. I'm on your side." He tells me as I grab a tree and brace myself to push up

"Yeah? Since when?"

"Hell, since the day you were born, baby brother. Somebody had to look after your worthless ass." He says and I scoffed

"You never took care of me. You talk a big game but you was never there. Hell, you ain't here now. Guess some things never change."

"I'll tell you what- I'm as real as your chupacabra." He mentioned

"I know what I saw."

"And I'm sure them shrooms you ate had nothing to do with it, right?" He asked me

"You'd best shut the hell up." I warned him

"Or what? You're gonna come up here and shut my mouth for me?" He asked and I continued to climb, "Well, come on and do it then, if you think you're man enough. Hey, kick off them damn high heels and climb, son." He says and laughed, "You know what? If I were you I'd take a pause for the cause, brother. 'Cause I just don't think you're gonna make it to the top." He tells me and I swung myself around a small tree, "Come on. Come on, little brother. Grab your friend Rick's hand."

I put my hand on the top of the ridge and pulled myself up, "Yeah, you'd better run."

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

"Walker. Walker!" I hear Andrea yell from the top of the RV and we all grab our weapons

"Just the one?" Rick asked her

"I bet I can nail it from here."

"No no, Andrea. Put the gun down." He tells her

"You'd best let us handle this." Shane says walking over

"Shane, hold up. Hershel wants to deal with walkers." Rick tells him

"What for, man? We got it covered."

We make our way into the field with Rick following us shortly after

"Is that Daryl?" Glenn asked and I feel my heart stop as he looked at us stopping while Rick pointed his gun at him

"That's the third time you've pointed that thing at my head. You gonna pull the trigger or what?" Daryl asked and I sighed in relief but just then there's a gun shot and he falls to the ground

"No" I whispered moving down next to him

"No! No! No!" Rick yelled at Andrea

"Daryl? Daryl?" I asked holding his head and he moved

"I'm okay" He says and I sighed, "I was kidding" He said to Rick and both him and Shane helped him to walk as Andrea and Dale ran over

"Oh my God. Oh my God, is he dead?"

"Unconscious. You just grazed him." Rick told her

"But look at him. What the hell happened? He's wearing ears." Glenn pointed out and Rick took them off and put them in his pocket

"Let's keep that to ourselves."

"Guys, isn't this Sophia's?" T-Dog asked and I turned to see him holding Sophia's doll, I moved over to him and he handed it to me, the guys bring him into the house and I looked at Andrea

"Are you insane or just plain stupid?!" I yelled walking up to her, "When Rick tells you not to shoot you don't fucking shoot! You could have killed Daryl or missed and got one of us. Stupid bitch" I tell her and shoved past her heading into the house

* * *

"I found it washed up on the creek bed right there. She must have dropped it crossing there somewhere." Daryl informed us as Hershel stitched up his arrow wound and they looked at the map

"Cuts the grid almost in half." Rick mentioned looking at Shane

"Yeah, you're welcome."

"How's he looking?" I asked Hershel

"I had no idea we'd be going through the antibiotics so quickly. Any idea what happened to my horse?" Hershel asked him moving to a wash bucket to clean his hands

"Yeah, the one who almost killed me? If it's smart, it left the country."

"We call that one Nelly, as in nervous Nelly. I could have told you she'd throw you if you'd bothered to ask. It's a wonder you people have survived this long." Hershel tells Rick, him and Shane walked out of the room and I looked at Daryl

"I'll be right back" I tell him and he nodded then I walked out as well

"I hate to say it, but I'm with Hershel on this one. Can't keep going out there, not after this." Shane brought up and I looked at him

"You'd quit now? Daryl just risked his life to bring back the first hard evidence we've had." I told him

"That is one way to look at it. The way I see it, Daryl almost died today for a doll."

"Yeah, I know how you see it." Rick tells him and walked away

"I'm not out to be a hard case. Just being realistic." Shane adds

"That's my little sister Shane, I'm not stopping until we find her so get that through your damn head." I told him and walked outside heading to Daryl's tent to get him some clothes.

* * *

I went back in after getting Daryl some clothes and he was still laying in the bed, "Brought you something to change into." I told him putting the clothes on the chair

"Hey, come here" He says and I walked over sitting down next to him, "I'm sorry"

"For what?" I asked him

"I keep coming up with empty clues on finding her, feel like I'm disappointing you"

"Hey," I grabbed his hand, "You are not disappointing me, you're working harder then anyone else including me on finding her and I love you for that."

"I didn't mean to scare you"

I chuckled, "You're alive, that's all that matters." I tell him and stand up but he still held my hand.

"Where you goin'?"

"Getting a wet rag to clean you up" I tell him

"Don't have to do that"

"Can you get and do it without hurting yourself?" I asked and he sighed, "Thought so" I said and grabbed the rag wetting it down then moved over to the bed and started wiping the dirt and blood off him being careful not to hurt him. When I was done I told him I was gonna go have some dinner but I'd be back

* * *

We all sat around the dining room table eating the food Lori and my mom made in silence, "Does anyone know how to play guitar?" Glenn asked breaking the silence, "Dale found a cool one. Somebody's got to know how to play."

"Otis did." Patricia answered with sadness

"Yes, and he was very good too." Hershel tells her and the room fell silent again, I see my mom stand up holding a tray and she walked in the direction of the room Daryl was in.

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

I laid in the bed sore as hell lost in thought when the door opened, I saw Carol walk in and I pulled the sheet up covering my body, "How are you feeling?" She asked me

"As good as I look."

"I brought you some dinner. You must be starving." She tells me setting the tray down and I looked at it then felt her lean down and kissed my head

"Watch out, I got stitches." I tell her, Phoebe told me I wasn't disappointing her, but I was letting Carol down

"You need to know something. You did more for my little girl today than her own daddy ever did in his whole life."

"I didn't do anything Rick or Shane wouldn't have done." I point out

"I know. You're every bit as good as them. Every bit. You're good for Phoebe too, I see how happy your making her and she deserves that." She says and left the room

Later that night there was a knock on the door and Phoebe walked in, "Doing ok?" She asked me

"I am now" I tell her and she nodded her head, "Come here" I said and she walked around the bed and crawled under the blanket being careful and we looked at each other. I loved the way she looked at me, have since day one, I still can't believe that in a world gone to shit I found her, someone to love and protect, someone I would die for.

"Get some rest" She tells me and I kissed her, I loved kissing her.

"I love you"

"I love you too" She says and put her head down kissing my chest then we laid there until I heard her breathing slow down and she fell asleep with me following after.


	5. Chapter 5

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

 **Phoebe POV...**

The sun shined through the window the next morning and I rubbed my face then feel Daryl wrap his arm around my waist pulling me to him and kissed my neck, "Good morning" I giggled and his hand trailed up my side to my breast

"It is, but I know how we can make it better" He says into my ear squeezing my breast then moved his hand down to the front of my pants trying to undo my button but I grabbed his hand and faced him

"Slow down mister, you need to fully heal first." I tell him, he sighed and pouted

"Fine, have it your way." He says and kissed me then I got up and he started to

"Whoa what are you doing?" I asked him moving over to him

"I ain't staying in this house any longer, I'm gonna go rest in my tent."

"Hershel said you can stay in here while you heal." I point out

"Nah, I'll be fine" He says as he groaned getting up, I grabbed the clothes I got for him and helped him get dressed then walked him outside to his tent.

* * *

"Hey want a peach or some jerky?" I asked Daryl standing at the entrance to his tent

"You know what I want." He says and I look around

"Stop it" I said with a smirk and walked away, "Hey Glenn"

"Hey Phoebe" He greeted and I grabbed a peach for me and some jerky for Daryl then looked at him

"You ok?"

"Yeah, yeah w-why wouldn't I be ok?" He asked nervously

"Ok then" I tell him and walked back to Daryl's tent giving him the jerky and a kiss then met up with Rick and Shane

"The creek flows south, past that farmhouse Phoebe and Daryl found. Maybe Sophia dropped the doll there, the current brought it downstream." Rick pointed out as we looked at the map

"So what, you think she took this road here and then she went north?" I asked him

"Yeah. What's up that way?" Rick asked Jimmy

"A housing development. It went in maybe 10 years ago."

"Take a run up there after gun practice. I'll hold down the fort here, but take backup. After what went down with Daryl, I don't want anyone going out alone. We stay in pairs." Rick says to Shane

"I'll take suggestions on a partner."

"See how they do on the range, then take your pick." Rick says as Glenn walked over with the peaches, "Thanks."

Glenn walked over giving one to Jimmy and I saw him look at Rick and Shane, "My binoculars." Shane says to him and he put the basket down

"Yeah yeah. Okay, bye." He walked away and I shrugged then Patricia and Beth walked over

"We'd like to join you for gun training today." Beth says to Rick

"Hershel's been very clear. I can't involve any of you in what we do without his okay."

"He doesn't like it, but he consented." She adds

"Otis was the only one who knew guns. Now that he's gone, we gotta learn to protect ourselves. Her father saw the sense in that." Patricia pointed out

"No offense, but I'll ask Hershel myself."

I headed to my tent and grabbed my bag after getting my gun from Dale then walked over to Daryl's, "Hey I'm heading out"

"Come here" he says and I walked over kneeling down next to his cot, "Be safe"

"Always am" I tell him and he pulled me into a passionate kiss, "You make it very hard to leave when you do that."

"I know"

I gave him a quick peck and got up, "Rest, I'll be back" I turned to walk out and felt him slap my butt, "Hey now" I smiled pointing my finger at him and he raised his hands and smiled.

* * *

Me, Rick and Shane watched as the others started to shoot at the targets Shane set up and smiled seeing they were doing pretty good

"Hey, come on, man. Don't give me that gangsta shit." I hear T-Dog say to Jimmy and I chuckled then walked to my mom

"You okay?" I asked her and she looked at me

"I don't know how I feel about this"

"I know, be honest I was unsure of guns too when I started at the academy but their effective, especially against walkers" I tell her and she raised her gun up, "Trick is to breath, find your target, take a deep breath and as you exhale squeeze the trigger" I instructed and she took a moment then fired hitting a bottle, "Nice!" I said with a smile and she smiled back

"Thanks Phoebe"

"You're welcome, just don't point that at anyone other then a walker and make sure you have the safety on when you aren't using it." I mention and she nodded, "When did I become the one to teach you things?" I asked and she looked at me

"When you became a cop" She replied and I nodded

* * *

"You gonna stay here tonight?" Daryl asked me as I changed his bandage

"I was thinking of staying at my place, early day tomorrow and my boyfriend can't keep his hands off me" I smiled and he grabbed my hand facing me

"You know I don't just want you for that, I want who you are as a person, the other stuff is just a bonus"

I smiled at him and gave him a kiss, "I know, now turn back around I'm not done" I said and he kissed my cheek then faced forward again, "I feel like my mom's giving up hope"

"What?"

"I see it every time we come back with nothing, I see it in her eyes that...she's beginning to think we aren't gonna find Sophia." I tell him finishing up and he faced me again

"Hey," He says putting his hands on my face, "We'll find her, and everything will be okay"

"How did I find someone like you?" I asked putting my hand on his cheek

"Reverse that question, how did I find someone like you?"

"Just fate I guess" I tell him and he kissed me then laid us down on his cot deepening the kiss, "We can't, you could hurt yourself more" I tell him but he kissed my neck and lightly bit down on it, I bit my lip fighting back a moan

"I'm fine" He tells me and moved his mouth down to my collar bone kissing it while pushing my shirt up over my head getting rid of it, I moved my hands to his and unbuttoned the ones he had done

"Was this payback for me keeping my two buttons undone?"

"Had to show you what you could have had this morning." He told me and I took his shirt off throwing it as well then he took off my pants

"Well I think that if we are gonna continue, you shouldn't be doing the work" I said and carefully moved him so that I was on top and undid his pants sliding them down then kissed and bit my way up his chest hearing him groan putting his fingers in my hair then I moved back down reaching his member kissing above it

"What are you..." He started to ask but I wrapped my mouth around it cutting him off, "Oh fuck Pheebs" He groaned tightening his hands in my hair as I moved my head up and down, "Oh" He quietly groaned and it was hot. I stopped and kissed my way back up again then straddled his lap lowering myself onto him and began moving my hips. He gripped them hard enough to leave a mark but it didn't bother me, he shifted himself and pounded into me as well.

"Mmm" I moaned biting my lip as he moved his hands to my breasts and squeezed them before pulling me down and putting one of them in his mouth, "Oh god" I quietly moaned and he moved his mouth to the other, "Oh..Daryl"

"Phoebe, my Phoebe" He groaned and it sent me over the edge and I couldn't help biting into his shoulder as I moaned hitting my peak, he pushed into me a few more times and grunted as he finished as well.

I moved off him and covered us with his blanket then looked at him, "Are you okay?" I asked him trying to catch my breath

"I'm good, I promise" He says putting his hand on my face and I kissed him, "As long as I have you I always will be."

"You'll always have me, no matter what" I reassured him and he kissed my forehead then we both relaxed and fell asleep

* * *

The next morning after we unsuccessfully tried to get dressed because he kept trying to undress me again we sat around our camp site while my mom cooked breakfast. I sat on the ground next to his chair and ate my eggs while he played with my hair with his one hand.

"Um, guys." Glenn says and we all look at him, "So... The barn is full of walkers."

* * *

"You cannot tell me you're all right with this." Shane says to Rick walking back over to us as we stood next to the barn

"No I'm not, but we're guests here. This isn't our land."

"This is our lives!" Shane yells

"Lower your voice." Glenn tells him

"We can't just sweep this under the rug." Andrea pointed out

"It ain't right. Not remotely." T-Dog add

"Okay, we've either got to go in there, we've got to make things right or we've just got to go. Now we have been talking about fort Benning for a long time." Shane said

"We can't go." Rick tells him

"Why, Rick? Why?"

"Because my daughter is still out there." My mom says to him and I put my arm around her shoulder

"Okay. Okay, I think it's time that we all start to just consider the other possibility."

"We're not leaving Sophia behind." I tell him

"I'm close to finding this girl. I just found her damn doll two days ago." Daryl argued

"You found her doll, Daryl. That's what you did. You found a doll." Shane tells him

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about." Daryl yelled at him and I grabbed his arm and he looked at me

"I'm just saying what needs to be said. You get a good lead, it's in the first 48 hours."

"Shane, stop." I warned him

"Let me tell you something else, man. If she was alive out there and saw you coming all methed out with your buck knife and geek ears around your neck, she would run in the other direction." Shane says to him and Daryl broke out of my hand and went to go for him but Rick held him back and they all shouted, I moved in front on Daryl putting my hand on his chest and he looked at me

"Now just let me talk to Hershel. Let me figure it out." Rick says to Shane

"What are you gonna figure out?!"

"If we're gonna stay, if we're gonna clear this barn, I have to talk him into it. This is his land." Rick said

"Hershel sees those things in there as people... Sick people... His wife, his stepson." Dale informed us and we looked at him

"You knew?" Rick asked him

"Yesterday I talked to Hershel."

"And you waited the night?" Shane asked

"I thought we could survive one more night. We did. I was waiting till this morning to say something. But Glenn wanted to be the one."

"The man is crazy, Rick, if Hershel thinks those things are alive or no." Shane shouted and the doors on the barn started to rattle as the walkers pushed on it, I moved my mom back as Daryl stood in front of us.

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

I carried the saddle into the barn trying to ignore the pain shooting up my side and I lifted it into the holder then leaned on it, Phoebe didn't know I was doing this otherwise she would stop me.

"You can't." I hear Carol tell me as she walked into the stables

"I'm fine." I walked over and grabbed a bit

" Hershel said you need to heal."

"Yeah, I don't care." I said

"Well, I do. Rick and Phoebe are going out later to follow the trail."

"Yeah well, I ain't gonna sit around and do nothing." I tell her putting the bit around the horse

"No, you're gonna go out there and get yourself hurt even worse. We don't know if we're gonna find her, Daryl." She says and I looked at her, "We don't. I don't."

"What?"

"Can't lose you too, neither can Phoebe" She said and I grabbed put my hands on the saddle then picked it up and threw it but a pain shot in my side and I bent over groaning, "Are you all right?" She asked rushing over but I shoved her off

"Just leave me be. Stupid bitch." I said walking out of the stables, I shouldn't have said that to her, she is right, I can't do that to Phoebe.

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

I sat in my tent looking at Sophia's doll, I really want to find her I do, I remembered the day my mom had her, I was 13.

 _"Phoebe, this is your sister, Sophia." My mom told me as I walked over to her bed and looked down at my baby sister, "Do you want to hold her?" She asked and I nodded my head_

 _She placed my little sister in my arms and I smiled down at her, "Hi Sophia, I'm your big sister and I will always protect you, no matter what. I love you"_

I sniffled wiping away the tears that came out of my eyes, if I can't find her then I will have failed her, and I don't think I can live with that.

* * *

"You see it?" Daryl asked my mom as we walked through a part of the property by a pond and see a few Cherokee roses

"See what?"

"I'll find her." He says to her, "Hey, I'm sorry about what happened this morning" He told her

"You wanted to look for her. Why? This whole time I've wanted to ask you." My mom says to him

"'Cause I think she's still out there. Truth is, what else I got to do?" He asked and wrapped his arm around me, I then looked at my mom who walked over to the flower

"We'll find her. We will. I see it." She says and I moved from Daryl and hugged her

"We will"

* * *

"We were supposed to leave a couple hours ago." I hear Andrea say as we joined up with the others at the house

"Yeah you were. What the hell?" Daryl asked her

"Rick told us he was going out." My mom says

"Damn it. Isn't anybody taking this seriously? We got us a damn trail." Daryl says and looked out to the field, "Oh, here we go." We see Shane walking over with the bag of guns, "What's all this?"

"You with me, man?"

"Yeah." Daryl replied taking the rifle

"Time to grow up." Shane says handing me mine, "You already got yours?" He asked Andrea

"Yeah. Where's Dale?" She asked him

"He's on his way."

"Thought we couldn't carry." T-Dog says to him as Shane handed him a gun

"We can and we have to. Look, it was one thing sitting around here picking daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe. But now we know it ain't. How about you, man? You gonna protect yours?" He asked Glenn holding up a gun, Glenn hesitated looking at Maggie hen grabbed it, "That's it. Can you shoot?" He asked her

"Can you stop? You do this, you hand out these guns, my dad will make you leave tonight."

"We have to stay, Shane." Carl tells him

"What is this?" Lori asked walking over

"We ain't going anywhere, okay? Now look, Hershel, he's just gotta understand. Okay? He... Well, he's gonna have to. Now we need to find Sophia. Am I right?" He asked Carl kneeling in front of him, "Huh? Now I want you to take this. You take it, Carl, and you keep your mother safe. You do whatever it takes. You know how. Go on, take the gun and do it."

Lori pushed Carl behind her and looked at Shane, "Rick said no guns. This is not your call. This is not your decision to make."

"Oh shit." I hear T-Dog say and we looked out at the field seeing Rick, Hershel and Jimmy walking with a couple walkers and Shane took off running with us following

"What is that? What is that? What the hell are you doing?"

"Shane, just back off." Rick told him

"Why do your people have guns?" Hershel asked him

"Are you kidding me? You see? You see what they're holding onto?" Shane asked Hershel

"I see who I'm holding onto."

"No, man, you don't." Shane says

"Shane, just let us do this and then we can talk." Rick tells him

"What you want to talk about, Rick? These things ain't sick. They're not people. They're dead. Ain't gonna feel nothing for them 'cause all they do, they kill! These things right here, they're the things that killed Amy. They killed Otis. They're gonna kill all of us. Hey, Hershel man, let me ask you something. Could a living breathing person, could they walk away from this?" He asked shooting the walker

"No! Stop it!" Rick begged

"That's three rounds in the chest. Could someone who's alive, could they just take that?! Why is it still coming?" He shoots it again, "That's its heart, its lungs. Why is it still coming?" He asked shooting it again

"Shane, enough." Rick said to him

"Yeah, you're right, man. That is enough." He walked over to the walker and shot it in the head, "Enough risking our lives for a little girl who's gone!" He yells and I put my hand on my mom's shoulder, "Enough living next to a barn full of things that are trying to kill us. Enough. Rick, it ain't like it was before! Now if y'all want to live, if you want to survive, you got to fight for it! I'm talking about fighting right here, right now." He tells us and ran over to the barn and started breaking the locks

"Take the snare pole. Hershel, take the snare pole. Hershel, listen to me, man, please. Take it now. Hershel! Take it!" Rick yells to him, "No, Shane. Do not do this, brother. Wait! Don't do it!"

"Come on. Come on, we're out here." Shane yells at the walkers in the barn and I push my mom back

"Stay behind me" I tell her and looked at Daryl

"This is not the way! Please!" Rick pleaded

Shane stands in front and aimed his gun up as the walkers came out and started shooting them followed by Andrea and T-Dog, "Stay here" I tell my mom and moved forward shooting them as well then Daryl moved up next to me and started shooting followed by Glenn. We get them all killed and I put my gun down and look at Daryl, then suddenly we hear another growl and the others raised their guns up and my heart stopped when I saw the walker, it was Sophia.

"Sophia? Sophia!" My mom cried but Daryl grabbed her as she ran forward, "Oh Sophia" She cried and I swallowed the lump in my throat trying not to fall over as Sophia looked at us, I see Rick move forward but I stopped him, I gave him a nod and walked forward then slowly raised my gun hearing my mom cry as Sophia moved towards us.

 _I will always protect you, no matter what. I love you_ , I remembered then I pulled the trigger, killing my sister.

* * *

I stood there listening to my mom cry looking at my sister's body, "Don't lok, Don't look" I hear Daryl tell her but she ran away. I put my gun down and dropped it then slowly backed up and ran away, "Phoebe" I hear Daryl say but I ignored him and ran to a line of trees and leaned on one sliding down it and started to cry. I failed her, I failed my mom and my baby sister. I didn't want anyone around me right now, I got up and walked, just walked, I didn't know where I was walking to but I needed to get away.

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

I walked into the RV to see Carol sitting at the small table, I didn't see Phoebe though and that worried me, she ran off, I knew she was hurting and I would do anything to make it stop. Carol sat there looking out the window of the RV so I moved and sat on top of the counter and we stayed like that in silence for a good while until Lori knocked on the RV door.

"They're ready." She says

"Come on." I said to Carol

"Why?"

"'Cause that's your little girl." I mentioned

"That's not my little girl. That's some other thing. My Sophia was alone in the woods. All this time I thought... She didn't cry herself to sleep. She didn't go hungry. She didn't try to find her way back. Sophia died a long time ago." She tells us and Lori walked back out, I got up and followed shortly after

"Hey," I called to Lori and she looked at me, "You see Phoebe anywhere?"

"Last I saw she ran to those trees over there," She pointed over to a line of trees away from us, "Other then that no."

"Thanks" I said and headed in that direction, I followed her tracks through the trees and heard a noise, I raised my crossbow and slowly moved towards it. When I got there I saw Phoebe above a dead walker, she was stabbing it repeatedly while crying, "Phoebe" I softly called to her and she didn't stop so I moved over slowly, I put my hand on her shoulder and she moved away

"Don't, don't touch me" She says facing me and she's covered in walker blood still holding her knife, "I don't need anyone right now now telling me they feel sorry for me, or-or looking at me with sympathy I just need to be left alone." She says and started to walk away but I ran up to her grabbing her arm

"I ain't leaving you alone."

"I..I can't Daryl, I can't even be around you right now because you're gonna hug me and I-I'm gonna break down and you'll make me feel better but I don't want to. I failed her! I failed my little sister, my baby sister! I told her I would always protect her, that I would always be there for her and what do I do? I leave alone under a fallen tree root to draw two walkers away when I could have just stayed there and killed them and we could have headed back to the highway and she would be safe but no I had to be an idiot! I failed my mom, I told her that I would bring Sophia back to her and now she's lost her baby, she put her trust in me and I failed her!" She ranted and I could feel my heart breaking, I hated seeing her so broken, "And you..you almost died looking for her and that would have killed me because I love you so much and if I lost you I wouldn't be able to move on, I would just be an empty shell of nothingness. So I just...I just can't" Her voices breaks a little bit and she closed her eyes, "I can't make this pain in my heart stop, it hurts so much." I moved closer to her and she moved back, "Don't..please" She says trying not to cry and I got closer but she didn't move, finally I was close enough and I pulled her into a hug and she cried into my shoulder, we just stood there as she cried.

I knew nothing I could do would help her, but I would try my hardest to bring her back.

* * *

After I got my tent and everything moved, Phoebe got cleaned up and laid down on the cot then fell asleep, she needed it and since I didn't want to disturb her I sat by an old fire pit making arrows lost in thought when Lori came running over, "Moving to the suburbs?" She asked me but I ignored her, "Listen, Beth's in some kind of catatonic shock. We need Hershel."

"Yeah. So what?"

"So I need you to run into town real quick and bring him and Rick back." She tells me and I kept silent, "Daryl?"

"Your bitch went window-shopping. You want him? Fetch him yourself. I got better things to do."

"What's the matter with you? Why would you be so selfish."

"Selfish?" I asked her standing up, "Listen to me, Olive Oyl. I was out there looking for that little girl every single day, so was Phoebe. I took a bullet and an arrow in the process. Don't you tell me about me getting my hands dirty! You want those two idiots? Have a nice ride. I'm done looking for people." I said sitting back down and she looked at me then walked away. After a few hours I walked over to the tent and saw Phoebe was awake staring off into space, "Hey," I said walking over and I knelt down next to her, "Sleep okay?"

"How long was I out?"

"Few hours, you needed to rest." I tell her and she sniffled, "Hey, it's okay. God if there was anything I could do to take your pain away baby I would."

"I know," She says grabbing my hand, "I know you would, I love you for it, I just need to heal."

"I understand, do you need anything?"

"Do you have any water?" She asked and I nodded grabbing the bottle and handing it to her, she propped up and took a drink, "How's my mom?"

"Quiet. I haven't really seen her since I moved my stuff out here."

She nodded and set the water down, "Daryl, can I stay out here with you? I can't be around the others right now."

"Of course, I'll go down there and grabbed your stuff." I tell her standing up and kissed her head, "I love you"

"I love you too."

* * *

I headed to Phoebe's tent and gathered up her things when Carol walked over, "Where is she?"

"My tent, she needed to rest." I said not looking at her picking up Phoebe's bag

"Is she staying out there with you?"

"She doesn't want to be around anyone right now." I mention and she looked down, "She just needs to heal, it doesn't have anything to do with you."

"Will you tell her I love her, and that..I don't blame her." She asked and I nodded then headed back to my camp. When I got there Phoebe was sitting by a fire wrapped in a blanket, I put her things inside the tent and sat behind her wrapping my arms around her just sitting there in silence watching the flames.

* * *

Phoebe went back into the tent after a while and laid down, she must really be exhausted, I don't think I've ever seen her sleep thins much, "We can't find Lori - and the others aren't back yet either." I hear Carol as she walked over

"Yeah. That dumb bitch must've gone off looking for 'em."

'What?" She asked me

"Yeah, she asked me to go. I told her I was done being an errand boy."

"And you didn't say anything?" She asked and I stayed quiet, she started to walk away but walked back over, "Don't do this. Please. I've already lost my girl, and my other one won't even talk to anyone but you." She says and I stand up

"That wasn't my problem neither." I said heading to the tent, I knew I wasn't being very nice to her, but it's not just Phoebe who let Carol down, it was me as well, right now all I needed to worry about was getting Phoebe back on her feet.

* * *

"What are you doing?" I asked Carol when I saw her looking at the dead squireels hanging from the rope

"Keeping an eye on you."

"Ain't you a peach?" I ask sarcastically

"I'm not gonna let you pull away, Phoebe either. You've earned your place."

"If you spent half your time minding your daughter's business instead of sticking your nose in everybody else's, she'd still be alive!" I yelled at her

"Go ahead."

"Go ahead and what? I mean just go! I don't want you here!" I yell but she still continues to stand there, "You're a real piece of work, lady. What, are you gonna make this about my daddy or some crap like that?" I asked her and she just looked at me, "Pfft! Man, you know Jack. You're afraid. You're afraid 'cause you're all alone. You got no husband, only one daughter who blames herself for failing you. You don't know what to do with yourself. You ain't my problem! Sophia wasn't mine! All you had to do was keep an eye on her! Then maybe Phoebe wouldn't be so riddled with guilt right now!" I yelled and we just looked at each other, she sniffled a little

"Yeah"

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

I woke up after falling asleep again to hear yelling then heard footsteps walking away, I looked out and saw my mom walking back towards the house then Daryl came in, "What was that about?" I asked him and he looked at me

"She just came to check on us"

"I thought I heard yelling." I tell him and he nodded

"I'm sorry, I yelled at her, told her if she would've paid attention to Sophia she would still be alive."

"You did what?" I asked standing up and walked over to him

"I'm sorry Pheebs, look I didn't mean it, I just..."

"You shut yourself off, I know, I know you but Daryl.." I started to say but he put his hands on my face.

"Hey, I'll apologize, okay? But right now my main focus is you. How are you doing?"

I sighed, "Getting there, I have the rest of my life to mourn but I know that she..." I stopped and took a shaky breath, "She would want me to be okay, to know that she isn't suffering anymore. She's happy now and probably knows that I didn't stop trying to find her."

He pulled me into a hug and kissed my head, "She knows you loved her." He says and I sniffled

"Thank you"

"For what?" He asked and I looked at him

"For being here, helping me, loving me."

"Until I die" He says and I kissed him

"Let's hope that it's not for a long time now."

"Same with you" He tells me and I smiled

"Now if we could just get rid of this stubborn jerk outter shell you have maybe more people could see you like I do."

"Stubborn jerk?" He asked and I smiled

"Either that or asshole"

"You think you're funny?" He asked me

"I am funny"

"You know what else is funny?" He asked and I shook my head, "This" He started to tickle my ribs and I couldn't help but giggle as I tried to fight and we ended up on the floor of the tent and he stopped, "I love you silly girl"

"I love you too...stubborn jerk" I said with a smirk and he tickled me again, "Daryl! Stop it!" I say through giggles and he stopped, "I do love you though, more then you know."

He kissed me, "Let's get some rest"

"I don't think my can sleep anymore. You get some rest, I think I'll sit outside for a while." I tell him and he nodded then got on the cot kicking his boots off and rolled over. I headed outside by the fire and sat down looking at it. I would be fine, I would, everything I said to Daryl was true, now I just needed to try and help my mom heal.

* * *

The next morning Daryl told me he was gonna go with Shane, Andrea and T-Dog to find Rick and Glenn who went to get Hershel yesterday. They loaded up the back of Shane's car and Daryl looked at me, "Be safe" I tell him and he kissed my head as Andrea walked over then we hear a truck drive down the driveway and see that it's them.

"Dad!"Carl tells him as they get out of the truck and he hugged him

"Patricia, prepare the shed for surgery." Hershel tells her walking into the house then I see Rick and Lori talking to each other

"Who the hell is that?" T-Dog asked and we all looked in the back seat of the truck to see a kid blind folded

"That's Randall." Glenn tells us

* * *

"We couldn't just leave him behind. He would've bled out, if he lived that long." Rick informed us

"It's gotten bad in town." Glenn pointed out

"What do we do with him?" Andrea asked and Hershel walked in

"I repaired his calf muscle as best I can, but he'll probably have nerve damage. Won't be on his feet for at least a week."

"When he is, we give him a canteen, take him out to the main road, send him on his way." Rick tells us and Daryl walked in then stood behind me, I gave him and small smile, he put his hand on my hip and I saw him look at my mom

"Isn't that the same as leaving him for the walkers?" Andrea asks

"He'll have a fighting chance."

"Just gonna let him go? He knows where we are." Shane pointed out

"He was blindfolded the whole way here. He's not a threat."

"Not a threat. How many of them were there? You killed three of their men, you took one of them hostage, but they just ain't gonna come looking?" Shane asked Rick

"They left him for dead. No one is looking."

"We should still post a guard." T-Dog suggests

"He's out cold right now, will be for hours." Hershel said

"You know what? I'm gonna go get him some flowers and candy." Shane tells us sarcastically and walked towards the door, "Look at this, folks... We back in fantasy land."

"You know, we haven't even dealt with what you did at my barn yet." Hershel tells him and I looked down, Daryl rubbed my back and I looked back at Shane, "Let me make this perfectly clear, once and for all...This is my farm. Now I wanted you gone. Rick talked me out of it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. So do us both a favor... Keep your mouth shut." Hershel tells him and Shane sighed looking at him then walked out

"We're not gonna do anything about it today. Let's just cool off." Rick tells us and everyone got up and started to walk out, my mom walked over to me and Daryl, he turned and walked out the door leaving me there with her.

"Phoebe.." She started to say but I cut her off and hugged her

"I'm sorry mom, I'm so sorry" I tell her fighting tears

"It's ok sweetie, you did everything you could, don't keep blaming yourself"

"But I.."

"No," She says cutting me off and made me look at her, "You did everything you could and she knows that, I know that too. You don't need to blame yourself."

"I love you mom"

She pulled me into a hug, "I love you too my sweet girl"

* * *

"Daryl, could you teach me how to track?" I asked him when we got back to our tent and he looked at me

"Why?"

"Because I want to help with more then just pointing a gun." I tell him and he chuckled

"Okay, but you should know I'm a strict teacher"

"Oh really?" I asked him and he walked over to me

"Mmhmm" He says putting his hands on my hips

"What would my punishment be for failing?"

"I won't kiss you for a week" He tells me and I gasp while smiling

"Well then I guess I better do good, who knows maybe I'll do better then you" I smirked and went to move away but he pulled me back

"You can try." He kissed me and I walked into the tent.


	6. Chapter 6

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

"What do you think?" Daryl asked me

"Umm..Rabbit?" I asked him looking at the tracks

"Why do you say that?"

I pointed at the tracks, "Rabbits keep their back feet together so they can hop faster away from danger."

"Hmm" He grunted and we silently moved forward, "What way did it go?"

I looked around at the lower branches trying to find any disturbances, "That way." I pointed seeing a continuing path.

"Good, come on" He says and we walked slowly as we came up on the rabbit, I smiled at Daryl and he raised his crossbow then shot it.

"How can you aim at a small target with that?" I asked him and he looked at me then reloaded it and stood behind me handing it to me, it was heavier then I thought so he helped me lift it

"Put this here" He instructed placing the stock against my shoulder, "Now like with your gun you use your dominant eye through the scope." He says and I closed my left eye and looked through, "Now aim at that bush over there" he tells me and put his hands on my hips

"It's hard for me to concentrate when you do that." I tell him with a smile and he kept his hands there but pulled me closer to him

"Gotta make you nervous" He says in my ear and my skin tingled, "Just relax"

I looked through the scope again and focused, I took a breath and pulled the trigger feeling the crossbow spring in my hand as the arrow flew to the bush, "Nice!" I said and looked at him, he took the crossbow away and pulled me to him

"You did good for your first lesson."

"Do I get a reward?" I asked and he moved me backwards against a tree then lifted my legs up wrapping them around his waist, he looked at me silently asking if it was ok, I nodded my head and he kissed me then shoved his tongue in my mouth. I moaned into the kiss and he gripped my thighs and I fisted my fingers in his hair. I could feel the bulge in his pants grow bigger and I moaned at the thought of it. I felt him smile into the kiss as he moved his lips away from my mouth and made their way down my chin to my neck, he bit my neck lightly which caused me to groan and move my head back allowing him more access. As his hand wondered up under my shirt squeezing my breast and I moved my hands from his hair to his shirt and started to undo it and he took mine off. He put me down and we worked on each others pants then he lifted me again and pushed into me

"Oh god" I moaned and he started off slow then picked up the pace gripping my thighs again as I gripped his shoulders

"Oh Pheebs" He moaned into my ear sending chills down my spine, "Tell me you love me"

"I love you"

"You want me?" He asked and I was more turned on then ever

"I want you, I always want you" I tell him and he lightly bit my ear pounding into me even harder and faster.

"Say my name"

"Daryl...oh! Daryl!" I moaned as I finished and he kept going

"Mmm...Phoebe" He grunted and followed, we stayed there panting trying to catch our breath and he kissed me, then he put me down and got ourselves dressed and straightened ourselves out, "My girls kind of wild" He says pulling me to him

"Oh shush you" I tell him smiling

"Let's head back" He says and kissed me then grabbed the rabbit and the arrow I shot then we walked back to our tent to see Rick standing there.

"I need you" He says to Daryl and walked away, Daryl looked at me and we followed.

* * *

"So, what you gonna do?" Lori asked Rick as we gathered around their camp, I didn't like what Rick asked Daryl to do, "We'd all feel better if we knew the plan."

"Is there a plan?" Andrea asked

"We gonna keep him here?" Glenn asked as well

"We'll know soon enough." Rick tells us and I see Daryl walk over with bloody knuckles as he stood next to me

"Boy there's got a gang, 30 men. They have heavy artillery and they ain't looking to make friends. They roll through here, our boys are dead. And our women," He paused and looked at me, "they're gonna- They're gonna wish they were."

"What did you do?" My mom asked him

"Had a little chat." He says and I shook my head

"No one goes near this guy." Rick tells us

"Rick, what are you gonna do?" Lori asked him

"We have no choice. He's a threat. We have to eliminate the threat."

"You're just gonna kill him?" Dale asked

"It's settled. I'll do it today." Rick says walking away and Dale followed him

I went over to Daryl and grabbed a rag wetting it down then started to wipe his hands, he flinched when I got to his knuckles, "Sorry"

"It's ok," He tells me and I continue, "You ok?"

"I just don't..like seeing that side of you, I mean I know I didn't see it but to think about it I just..."

"Hey," He stopped me and I looked at him, "I'm sorry, this was the only time, i promise"

"I know" I said with a small smile and finished cleaning his hands then he kissed me

"I love you"

I love you too" I replied and he pulled me into a hug

* * *

"The whole point of us coming up here is to get away from you people." I hear Daryl say and I turn to see Dale walking over to us

"Gonna take more than that."

"My mom send you?" I asked him

"Carol's not the only one that's concerned about you or you Daryl, your new role in the group."

"Oh, man, I don't need my head shrunk. This group's broken. We're better off fending for ourselves." Daryl tells him

"You act like you don't care."

"Yeah, it's 'cause I don't." Daryl mentioned

"So live or die, you don't care what happens to Randall?" Dale asked him

"Nope."

"Then why not stand with me, try to save the kid's life, if it really doesn't matter one way or the other?" Dale asked

"Didn't peg you for a desperate son of a bitch."

"Your opinion makes a difference, yours too Phoebe" He says to us

"Man, ain't nobody looking at me for nothing." Daryl told him

"Carol is, and I am. Right now. And you obviously- You have Rick's ear."

"Rick just looks to Shane. Let him." Daryl says

"You cared about what happened to Sofia. Cared what it meant to the group." Dale pointed out, Daryl may be hiding it from everyone but me but he did care, "Torturing people? That isn't you. You're a decent man. So is Rick. Shane- He's different."

"Why's that? 'Cause he killed Otis?" Daryl asked and I looked at him

"He tell you that?"

"He told some story- How Otis covered him, saved his ass. He showed up with the dead guy's gun. Rick ain't stupid. If he didn't figure that out, it's 'cause he didn't wanna. It's like I said- Group's broken." Daryl told him

"Phoebe, you were a cop with Rick and Shane, you swore to protect people. You can't think this is right."

"That was before we found out this kid has a group of 30 guys who would kill all the men here and...I just don't want to imagine what they would do to the rest of us. I did swear to protect people but not if those people are a danger to us. I'm sorry Dale but I can't put the people I love in danger including you." I said to him then me and Daryl headed into the woods.

* * *

"So how do we do this? Just take a vote?" Glenn asked

"Does it have to be unanimous?" Andrea adds

"How about majority rules?" Lori asks

"Well, let's- let's just see where everybody stands, then we can talk through the options." Rick tells us

"Well, where I sit, there's only one way to move forward." Shane mentioned

"Killing him, right? I mean, why even bother to even take a vote? It's clear which way the wind's blowing." Dale says

"Well, if people believe we should spare him, I wanna know." Rick said to him

"Well, I can tell you it's a small group- Maybe just me and Glenn." Dale says and I saw Glenn look at him

"Look, I- I think you're pretty much right about everything, all the time, but this-"

"They've got you scared." Dale tells him

"He's not one of us. And we've- we've lost too many people already."

"How about you? Do you agree with this?" Dale asked Maggie

"Couldn't we continue keeping him prisoner?"

"Just another mouth to feed." Daryl pointed out from behind me

"It may be a lean winter." Hershel adds

"We could ration better." Lori mentioned

"Well, he could be an asset. Give him a chance to prove himself." Dale brought up

"Put him to work?" I asked

"We're not letting him walk around." Rick says

'We could put an escort on him." Maggie suggested

"Who wants to volunteer for that duty?" Shane asked

"I will." Dale answered

"I don't think any of us should be walking around with this guy." Rick interjected

"He's right. I wouldn't feel safe unless he was tied up." Lori agreed

"We can't exactly put chains around his ankles, sentence him to hard labor." Andrea pointed out

"Look, say we let him join us, right? Maybe he's helpful, maybe he's nice. We let our guard down and maybe he runs off, brings back his 30 men." Shane says

"So the answer is to kill him to prevent a crime that he may never even attempt? If we do this, we're saying there's no hope. Rule of law is dead. There is no civilization." Dale defended

"Could you drive him further out? Leave him like you planned?" I asked Rick

"You barely came back this time. There are walkers. You could break down. Y-you could get lost." Lori says

"Or get ambushed." Daryl adds

"They're right. We should not put our own people at risk." Glenn says

"If you go through with it, how would you do it? Would he suffer?" Patricia asked

"We could hang him, right? Just snap his neck." Shane suggested

"I thought about that. Shooting may be more humane." Rick says

"And what about the body? Do we bury him?" T-Dog asked

"Hold on, hold on! You're talking about this like it's already decided." Dale interrupted

"You've been talking all day, going around in circles. You just wanna go around in circles again?" Daryl asked him

"This is a young man's life, and it is worth more than a five-minute conversation! Is this what it's come to? We kill someone because we can't decide what else to do with him? You saved him and now look at us. He's been tortured. He's gonna be executed. How are we any better than those people that we're so afraid of?"

"We all know what needs to be done." Shane pointed out

"No, Dale is right. We can't leave any stone unturned here. We have a responsibility-"

"So what's the other solution?" Andrea asked cutting Rick off

"Let Rick finish." Lori tells her

"We haven't come up with a single viable option yet. I wish we could." Andrea says

"So let's work on it!" Dale tells us

"We are." Rick tells him

"Stop it. Just stop it. I'm sick of everybody arguing and fighting. I didn't ask for this. You can't ask us to decide something like this. Please decide- Either of you, both of you- But leave me out." my mom said

"Not speaking out or killing him yourself- There's no difference." Dale says to her

"All right, that's enough. Anybody who wants the floor before we make a final decision has the chance." Rick told us and everyone stayed quiet

"You once said that we don't kill the living." Dale mentioned to Rick

"Well, that was before the living tried to kill us."

"But don't you see? If we do this, the people that we were- The world that we knew is dead. And this new world is ugly. It's... Harsh. It's- it's survival of the fittest. And that's a world I don't wanna live in, and I don't- And I don't believe that any of you do. I can't. Please. Let's just do what's right. Isn't there anybody else who's gonna stand with me?" Dale asked and looked at Andrea

"He's right. We should try to find another way." Andrea mentioned

"Anybody else?" Rick asked but nobody spoke up

"Are y'all gonna watch, too?" Dale asked trying to fight tears, "No, you'll go hide your heads in your tents and try to forget that we're slaughtering a human being. Whoa... I won't be a party to it." He says and headed for the door but stopped in front of me and Daryl, "This group is broken." He tells Daryl and walked out

* * *

I was standing with my mom and the others when Rick walked over with Carl, "We're keeping him in custody, for now"

"I'm gonna go find Dale," Andrea says standing up and I looked at my mom

"I'm gonna tell Daryl" I told her and she nodded then I walked away heading to the shed we were keeping Randal in when suddenly I hear screaming coming from the field so I ran over

"Dale!" I hear Andrea yell

"Help! Over here! Help! Run!" I also hear Daryl yell and I ran faster as we all arrived seeing Dale on the ground with his stomach ripped open, I put my hand over my mouth and my mom wrapped her arms around me

"Oh, my God. Oh, God." Rick says bending down to Dale

"All right, just listen to my voice. Listen to me, all right? Just listen to me. Okay, hold on now. Get Hershel!" He yells, "He needs blood. We gotta operate now."

"Hang on, Dale. Hang on. Listen to me. Come on." Andrea tells him kneeling down holding his hand

"Okay, just listen to my voice. All right, please. Hershel! We need Hershel! Look at me. Dale, we're gonna help. We're here. Just hold on- hold on." Rick said trying to calm him down

"What happened?" Hershel asked rushing over and my mom pulled me into a hug as I cried

"What can we do?" Rick asked him

"Dale, it's gonna be okay." Andrea say

"Can we move him?" Rick asked Hershel

"He won't make the trip."

"You have to do the operation here. Glenn, get back to the house." Rick tells him

"Rick."

"No!" Rick yelled and we all start to cry

"He's suffering. Do something!" Andrea tells him, I see Rick slowly lift his gun but Daryl walked over to him taking it then knelt down next to Dale and pointed it at him

"I'm sorry, brother." He says and shoots Dale

* * *

Dale could- could get under your skin. He sure got under mine, because he wasn't afraid to say exactly what he thought, how he felt. That kind of honesty is rare and brave. Whenever I'd make a decision, I'd look at Dale. He'd be looking back at me with that look he had. We've all seen it one time or another. I couldn't always read him, but he could read us. He saw people for who they were. He knew things about us- The truth... Who we really are. In the end, he was talking about losing our humanity. He said this group was broken. The best way to honor him is to unbreak it. Set aside our differences and pull together, st feeling sorry for ourselves and take control of our lives... Our safety... ...our future. We're not broken. We're gonna prove him wrong. From now on... We're gonna do it his way. That is how we honor Dale"

* * *

"It'll be tight, 14 people in one house." Rick tells Hershel as we get our stuff packed up to move into the house

"Don't worry about that. With the swamp hardening, the creek drying up..."

"With 50 head of cattle on the property, we might as well be ringing a damn dinner bell." Maggie pointed out

"She's right. We should've moved you in a while ago." Hershel added

"All right, let's move the vehicles near each of the doors facing out toward the road. Just leave it there. We'll build a lookout in the windmill, another in the barn loft. That should give us sight lines both sides of the property. Phoebe, you take the perimeter around the house. Keep track of everyone coming and going." Rick told me and I nodded my head then went to grab mine and Daryl's stuff

"What about standing guard?" T-Dog asked him

"I need you and Daryl on double duty."

"I'll stock the basement with food and water, enough that we can all survive there a few days if need be." Hershel says

"What about patrols?" Andrea asked Rick

"Let's get this area locked down first. After that, Shane'll assign shifts while me and Daryl take Randall offsite and cut him loose."

I walked over to our stuff and Daryl put his hand on my shoulder, "You doing ok?"

"I can't keep losing people Daryl, it's to much"

He took the bag I was holding out of my hand and pulled me into a hug, "I know, but I'm here, I ain't going anywhere."

I pulled away and smiled at him, "You better keep that promise, I don't think I'd survive if I lost you." I tell him and he kissed my head then we got back to packing stuff up.

* * *

"What's wrong?" Maggie asked us as they came over to the shed Randall escaped from

"Randall's missing." Glenn told her

"Missing? How?"

"How long's he been gone?" Hershel asked

"It's hard to say. The cuffs are still hooked. He must' slipped 'em." Rick answered

"Is that possible?" My mom asked

"It is if you've got nothing to lose." Andrea says

"The door was secured from the outside." Hershel pointed out

"Rick! Rick!" Shane yelled walking over and I saw blood on his face

"What happened?" I asked him

"He's armed! He's got my gun!" Shane tells him and I looked at Daryl who put his hand on my arm

"Are you okay?" Carl asked

"I'm fine. Little bastard just snuck up on me. He clocked me in the face."

"All right, Hershel, Phoebe, T-Dog, get everybody back in the house. Glenn, Daryl, come with us." Rick tells them and Daryl kissed my head

"T, I'm gonna need that gun." Shane tells him

"Just let him go. That was the plan, wasn't it, to just let him go?" My mom asked

"The plan was to cut him loose far away from here, not on our front step with a gun."

"Don't go out there. Ya'll know what can happen." My mom says and I wrapped my arm around her

"Get everybody back in the house. Lock all the doors and stay put!" Rick demanded and Daryl nodded at me then I grabbed my mom's hand

"Let's go, back in the house." Lori tells us and we moved to the house

* * *

I sat in the chair in the house tapping my foot while picking at my nails, "I'm going after them" Andrea says standing up

"Me too" I added standing up as well

"Don't, they could be anywhere. And if Randall comes back, we're gonna need you both here." Lori tells us and the front door opened, I see Glenn and Daryl walk in and I walked over to Daryl hugging him

"Rick and Shane ain't back?" Daryl asked us

"No." I told him

"We heard a shot."

"Maybe they found Randall." Lori mentioned

"We found him." Daryl told her

"Is he back in the shed?" Maggie asked him

"He's a walker."

"Did you find the walker that bit him?" I asked

"No, the weird thing is he wasn't bit." Glenn answered

"His neck was broke." Daryl added

"So he fought back." Patricia pointed out

"The thing is, Shane and Randall's tracks were right on top of each other. And Shane ain't no tracker, so he didn't come up behind him. They were together." Daryl pointed out

"Would you please get back out there, find Rick and Shane and find out what on earth is going on?" Lori asked Daryl walking up to him

"You got it."

"Thank you." She says and Daryl nodded at me to follow him

"What's going on?" I asked him

"I think Shane staged this whole thing, when I found his tracks there was blood on a tree nearby."

"So you think Shane's lying? Why would he do that?" I asked

"He doubts Rick as a leader, could've made this up to try and kill Rick"

I looked at him then sighed, "I knew for a while now that Shane seemed like he was losing it but I never thought...then you mentioned Otis...I can't believe it, I've known him for years I never thought he would be capable of this." I tell him and he put his hand on my shoulder and was about to say something but he looked out into the field, I followed his gaze and saw a herd of walkers coming towards us and the others walked out as I grabbed Daryl's hand.

"Patricia, kill the lights." Hershel tells her and she headed inside

"I'll get the guns." Andrea says and followed

"Maybe they're just passing, like the herd on the highway. Should we just go inside?' Glenn asked

"Not unless there's a tunnel downstairs I don't know about. A herd that size would rip the house down." Daryl tells him

"Carl's gone." Lori tells us walking out

"What?" I asked her

"He... he was upstairs. I can't find him anymore."

"Maybe he's hiding." Glenn told her

"He's supposed to be upstairs. I'm not leaving without my boy."

"We're not. We're gonna look again. We're gonna find him." My mom tells her and they head inside as Andrea came out with the guns handing me mine then Maggie handed one to Glenn

"Maggie."

"You grow up country, you pick up a thing or two." She says to him loading it

"They got the numbers... It's no use." Daryl pointed out

"You can go if you want." Hershel says

"You gonna take 'em all on?" I asked him

"We have guns. We have cars."

"Kill as many as we can, and we'll use the cars to lead the rest of them off the farm." Andrea pointed out

"Are you serious?" Daryl asked him

"This is my farm. I'll die here."

"All right. It's as good a night as any." Daryl says and I look at him, "Stay with Glenn. I love you" He tells me then I kissed him

"I love you too" I said and he hopped over the railing heading to his bike, "Come on." I tell Glenn and Maggie and we head to Shane's car.

* * *

I sat in the back seat of Shane's car while Maggie drove with Glenn in the passenger seat as we shot at the walkers, "Keep it steady!" Glenn says to her

"I'm trying"

"Glenn, up!" I tell him and I lifted myself to sit on the car window holding onto the handle and continued shooting then Glenn did the same then we get back inside, "We can't keep doing this we're gonna run out of ammo" I tell them putting my last clip into my gun

"Where the hell are they going?" I hear Maggie ask and I see the blue truck pulling away, "Should I follow them?"

"I'd say yes." Glenn told her, "Swing it around, swing it around here," He directed and she stops, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." We see a group of walkers heading to our car

"Oh my god. I can't get through" Maggie says

"Head out" Glenn tells her

"Get of the farm now"

"Don't say that." She said to him

"Maggie it's lost"

"The others, we can't leave them" She defended

"We have to Maggie" I reassured her and she backed the car up

"Get off the farm now!" Glenn tells her and she drives forward, I kept looking out the window through the walkers trying to see Daryl or my mom but I couldn't see anything and we drove away

"Oh my god, Oh my god" Maggie repeated and I put my hand on her shoulder

"Alright let's just...Let's just circle back to the highway." Glenn told her

"Did you see my dad? Did... did he make it? Did you see?"

"I couldn't see anything." He says

"And Beth... I lost Beth. We've gotta go back there."

"We can't go back, okay? There's nothing to go back to." I tell her

"But Beth..."

"I-I... I think she was with Lori." Glenn mentioned

"Did they make it?" She asked him

"I don't know."

"Patricia? Jimmy? What if they didn't make it? What if nobody made it?" She asked

"They made it, okay? They had to." I said trying to calm her

"All right, let's just circle around to the highway where we left supplies for Sophia." Glenn says

"No, the herd came from that direction." Maggie pointed out

"Just stop. Stop the car. Stop the car." He told her and she stopped, "Let me drive." He gets out and she moved over then he got back in and looked at her, "Hey hey hey hey. Hey, Maggie, look at me. Look at me. Hey, we're alive. We made it. Okay? I'm sure they are, too. Right? I love you. Maggie, I love you. I should've said it a long time ago and it's been true for a long time. We're gonna be all right, okay? We'll be all right.€" He tells her and I gave a small smile

"Okay. Yeah." She says and he put the car in drive and continued, I looked out the window, I didn't know if Daryl was alive, or my mom. I needed them to be, I can't lose them. Then suddenly I hear something and I looked out the front window, I saw Daryl and my mom on his bike, I chuckled and felt tears in my eyes as Maggie grabbed my hand. We followed him to the highway and I see the red truck sitting there as we pull through the middle, before Glenn could stop I opened the door

"Mom!" I yelled running to her and I hugged her with tears going down my face as she cried into my shoulder

"Thank god" She cried in my ear and I pulled away then rushed over to Daryl who pulled me to him and I cried into his shoulder

"I was so worried" I tell him and he moved my face to look at him

"I told you I ain't leavin' ya" He says and I kissed him then hugged him again

"Oh thank god" I hear Lori say and Carl rushed over to her followed by Rick

"Where'd you find everyone?" Rick asked Daryl

"Well, this guys tail lights zigzagging all over the road... figured he had to be Asian, driving like that." He answered and I smacked his chest smiling as he held me to him

"Good one." Glenn says

"Where's the rest of us?" Daryl asked

"We're the only ones who made it so far." Rick told him

"Shane?" Lori asked and I looked at Rick who shook his head.

"Andrea?" Glenn asked

"She saved me, then I lost her." My mom said and I grabbed her hand

"We saw her go down." T-Dog mentioned

"Patricia?" Hershel asked

"They got her, too. Took her right in front of me. I was... I was holdin' onto her, daddy. She just..." Beth said and cried into Hershel, "What about Jimmy? Did you see Jimmy?"

"He was in the RV. It got overrun." Rick told her

"You definitely saw Andrea?" I asked

"There were walkers everywhere." Lori answered

"Did you see her?" I asked again

"I'm gonna go back." Daryl says moving away from me to his bike

"No." I told him

"We can't just leave her."

"We don't even know if she's there." Lori pointed out

"She isn't there. She isn't. She's somewhere else or she's dead. There's no way to find her." Rick says

"So we're not even gonna look for her?" Glenn asked him and I see a walker moving towards us

"We gotta keep moving. There have been walkers crawling all over here."

"I say head east." T-Dog brought up and I see Daryl grab his crossbow

"Stay off the main roads. The bigger the road, the more walkers, more assholes like this one. I got him." Daryl says and shoots it

Everyone loaded up into the cars and I got the back of Daryl's bike, I wasn't leaving his side ever again.

* * *

As we drove one of the cars honked at us and Daryl stopped then I got off, "You out?" Daryl asked Rick as they walked over

"Running on fumes."

"We can't stay here." Maggie pointed out

"We can't all fit in one car." Glenn says

"We'll have to make a run for some gas in the morning." Rick told

"Spend the night here?" My mom asked

"I'm freezing." Carl says and Rick took his coat off and put it on him

"We'll build a fire, yeah?" Lori tells him

"You go out looking for firewood, stay close. Only got so many arrows. How you doing on ammo?" Daryl asked Rick

"Not enough."

"I'm on my last clip" I added

"We can't just sit here with our asses hanging out." Maggie says

"Watch your mouth. Everyone stop panicking and listen to Rick." Hershel tells us

"All right, we'll set up a perimeter. In the morning, we'll find gas and some supplies. We'll keep pushing on."

"Glenn and I can go make a run now, try and scrounge up some gas." Maggie tells Rick

"No, we stay together. God forbid something happens and people get stranded without a car."

"Rick, we're stranded now." Glenn said to him

"I know it looks bad, we've all been through hell and worse, but at least we found each other. I wasn't sure... I really wasn't... but we did. We're together. We keep it that way. We'll find shelter somewhere. There's gotta be a place."

"Rick, look around. Okay? There's walkers everywhere. They're migrating or something." Glenn says

"There's gotta be a place not just where we hole up, but that we fortify, hunker down, pull ourselves together, build a life for each other. I know it's out there. We just have to find it."

"Even if we do find a place and we think it's safe, we can never be sure. For how long? Look what happened with the farm. We fooled ourselves into thinking that that was safe." Maggie pointed out

"We won't make that mistake again. We'll make camp tonight over there, get on the road at the break of day." Rick told us pointing to what looked like a broken down bridge

"Does this feel right to you?" My mom asked me and Daryl

"What if walkers come through, or another group like Randall's?" Beth asked

"You know I found Randall, right? He had turned, but he wasn't bit." Daryl pointed out

"How's that possible?" Beth asked

"Rick, what the hell happened?" Lori asked him

"Shane killed Randall. Just like he always wanted to." I answered

"And then the herd got him?" Lori asked

"We're all infected." Rick told us and I looked at him confused

"What?" Daryl asked him

"At the CDC, Jenner told me. Whatever it is, we all carry it."

"And you never said anything?" My mom asked him

"Would it have made a difference?"

"You knew this whole time?" I asked him

"How could I have known for sure? You saw how crazy that mo..."

"That is not your call. Okay, when I found out about the walkers in the barn, I told, for the good of everyone." Glenn tells him

"Well, I thought it best that people didn't know." Rick told us and walked away, I sighed and shook my head

"Come on" Daryl says to me after loading his crossbow and we headed into the trees to get firewood.

* * *

Later that night we all gathered around the fire as Daryl put more wood into it, I saw my mom rub her arms and I took my coat of and gave it to her, she resisted at first but I wasn't backing down and she took it putting it on then Daryl sat behind me and wrapped me in his arms then kissed the back of my head.

"We're not safe with him." My mom whispered to us and we looked at her, "Keeping something like that from us. Why do you need him? He's just gonna pull you down." She says to Daryl

"No. Rick's done all right by me."

"You're his henchman and I'm a burden. We deserve better." She says

"What do you want?" I asked her

"A man of honor."

"Rick has honor." I said

"I think we should take our chances." Maggie adds

"Don't be foolish. There's no food, no fuel, no ammo." Hershel says and we hear leaves rustling, Daryl stood up and we followed

"What was that?" Beth asked

"Could be anything. Could be a raccoon, could be a possum." Daryl mentioned

"Walker." Glenn says and Rick walked over

"We need to leave. I mean what are we waiting for?" My mom asked

"Which way?" Glenn asked

"It came from over there." Maggie answered

"Back from where we came." Beth adds

"Yeah."

"The last thing we need is for everyone to be running off in the dark. We don't have the vehicles. No one's traveling on foot." Rick tells us

"Don't panic." Hershel says to Maggie

"I'm not... I'm not sitting here, waiting for another herd to blow through. We need to move, now."

"No one is going anywhere." Rick said

"Do something." My mom told him

"I am doing something! I'm keeping this group together, alive. I've been doing that all along, no matter what. I didn't ask for this. I killed my best friend for you people, for Christ's sake!" Rick tells us and I looked at him in shock, "You saw what he was like, how he pushed me, how he compromised us, how he threatened us. He staged the whole Randall thing, led me out to put a bullet in my back. He gave me no choice. He was my friend, but he came after me. My hands are clean. Maybe you people are better off without me. Go ahead. I say there's a place for us, but maybe... maybe it's just another pipe dream. Maybe... maybe I'm fooling myself again. Why don't you... Why don't you go and find out yourself? Send me a postcard. Go on, there's the door. You can do better? Let's see how far you get." He says and we all stay quiet, "No takers? Fine. But get one thing straight... you're staying. This isn't a democracy anymore."


	7. Chapter 7

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

 **A/N: Hello my dears, I do hope you are still enjoying this story and if you are or not both views are welcome. Please continue to enjoy.**

We moved from place to place for 8 months, the only way we knew how long was because of Lori's pregnancy. While we stopped at one place for the night we brought in stuff we gathered along the way considering we lost most of our stuff back at the farm.

I sat near Daryl as he plucked the feathers out of an owl, I see Carl walk in and sit on the floor with a couple cans, I saw that they were dog food. Rick walked over to him as he opened it grabbing it then walked away throwing it into the fire place. We all sat in silence and I looked over at Carl, I understood why Rick did it, he doesn't want us to resort to eating like animals, but at least Carl was trying.

"Psst" T-Dog says from the window and we gather up or stuff again then walked out the back heading to the cars and I got on the back of Daryl's bike then we drove off

TWD

"We've got no place left to go." T-Dog points out as we stop on the road to look at a map

"When this herd meets up with this one, we'll be cut off, we'll never make it south." Maggie mentioned

"What do you say, it's about 150 head?" Daryl asked Glenn from next to me

"That was last week, could be twice that now."

"This river could have delayed them. If we move fast, we might have a shot to tear right through this." Hershel says

"Yeah, but if this group joins with that one, they could spill out this way." I brought up pointing to the map

"So we're blocked." Maggie added

"Only thing to do is double back at 27th and swing towards Greenville." Rick tells us

"We picked through that already, it's like we spent the winter going in circles." T-Dog told him

"Yeah, I know. I know. At Newnan we'll push west. Haven't been through the area. We can't keep going house to house. We need to find some place to hold up for a few weeks."

"Alright. Is it cool if we get to the creek before we head out? It won't take long. We gotta fill up on water, we can boil it later." I mention to him

"Knock yourself out"

* * *

We stand next to a fence at the prison Rick and Daryl found as Rick cut a slit in it so we could get through.

"Watch the backside!" Rick tells us as we slowly make our way to the fence and slide through

Glenn and Daryl close the wire up then we start to run, the walkers approach but are stopped by the fence, I run next to Daryl who opens one of the gates and we go in. There is a courtyard filled with walkers, "It's perfect." Rick tells us as we all look at the prison, "If we can shut that gate, prevent more from filling the yard, we can pick off these walkers. We'll take the field by tonight."

"So how do we shut the gate?" Hershel asked

"I'll do it. You guys cover me." Glenn says

"No, it's a suicide run." Maggie tells him

"I'm the fastest."

"No. You, Maggie, and Beth draw as many as you can over there" Rick tells us pointing to another part of the fence, pop them through the fence. Daryl, Phoebe go back to the other tower. Carol, you've become a pretty good shot, take your time, we don't have a lot of ammo to waste. Hershel, you and Carl, take this tower."

"Alright." Carl tells him and they move to the opposite tower from Daryl, me and my mom

"I'll run for the gate." Rick says

Glenn, T-Dog, Maggie, and Beth draw the walkers by screaming, and kill them by stabbing them in the head through the fence. Lori opens the door for Rick. He runs towards the prison, shooting walkers who get in his way, at one point I see my mom almost shoot Rick by mistake.

"Sorry!" She yelled and Rick continued running, the walkers are drawn to Rick, but he manages to shut the gate. Then, he goes in the tower and closes the door, followed by all the walkers, "He did it" My mom says

"Light it up!" Daryl tells us and we all start to shoot killing the rest of the walkers

"Fantastic!" My mom says as we all meet back up

"Nice shooting." Daryl said to her and she smiled

"Yeah."

"You okay?" I asked Lori moving over to her

"I haven't felt this good in weeks."

We go in to the courtyard, "Oh! Oh, oh! We haven't had this much space since we left the farm!" my mom yells excitedly and I smile as Daryl put his arm around my shoulder kissing my head

"Wooooo!" T-Dog cheered and I looked at him with a smile

"Dude" I tell him and he looked at me then out at the woods

"Sorry" He says with a smile as we all walk towards the prison

* * *

Later that night everyone except Daryl and Rick are sitting around a fire eating, "Mmmm… Just like mom used to make." Glenn says indicating to his food and I gave him a shove with a smile on my face and Maggie smiles. Lori eats and looks at Rick who's on watch next to the fence.

"Tomorrow, we'll put all the bodies together. We want to keep them away from that water. Now, if we can dig a canal under the fence, we'll uh have plenty of fresh water." T-Dog pointed out

"The soil is good, we could plant some seed, grow some tomatoes, cucumbers, soybeans." Hershel says and looked over at Rick, "That's his third time around. If there was any part of it compromised, he'd have found it by now." Hershel added and I grabbed the bowl of food I made Daryl and walked over to the over turned vehicle he was standing on. I looked up at him as I stretched to put the bowl up and he grabbed my hand helping me get on top.

"That's not much, but if I don't bring you anything you won't eat at all." I tell him and he takes a few bites

"Guess little Shane over there's got quite the appetite." He said and I laughed

"Don't be mean. Rick's gotten us a lot further than I thought he would, I'll give him that. Shane could never have done that." I mention and started to rub my shoulder

"What's wrong?"

"It's that rifle, the kickback. I'm just not used to it." I tell him, I ran out of bullets for my handgun a month ago but luckily found a rifle with half a box of ammo, I saw him lick his fingers and indicate for me to turn then he started to massage my shoulder.

"Better get back."

"It's pretty romantic. Want to screw around?" I asked him with a smirk

"Don't tempt me" He says and moves to get down, "I'll go down first"

"Oh even better"

"Stop" He says and gets down then I sit down and he grabbed my hips helping me down as I put my hands on his shoulders then suddenly I got pressed into the under part of the vehicle and he pressed himself against me then kissed me passionately, I moaned into his mouth as his hands ran up my sides and he pulled away

"Tease" I said pouting and he kissed me again

"Don't worry, I'll have you soon enough"

"Promises, promises" I tell him and winked then we headed back to the others

"Bethy, sing "Paddy Reilly" for me. I haven't heard that I think, since your mother was alive." Hershel tells her

"Daddy, not that one, please." Maggie tells him

"How about uh… Parting Glass?"

"No one wants to hear." Beth says and we look at her

"Why not?" I asked her as Daryl sat down behind me and wrapped his arms around me

"Okay. 'Of all the money e'er I had I spent it in good company And all the harm e'er I've ever done alas it was to none but me and all I've done for want of wit to memory now I can't recall so fill to me the parting glass good night and joy be with you all'" Maggie joins her in singing "'Oh, all the comrades that e'er I had were sorry for my going away and all the sweethearts that e'er I had would wish me one more day to stay But since it falls unto my lot that I should rise and you should not I'll gently rise and I'll softly call good night and joy be with you all good night and joy be with you all'"

"Beautiful." Hershel tells then and Glenn puts his hand on Maggie's leg, smiling.

"Better all turn in. I'll take watch over there, we've got a big day tomorrow." Rick tells us

"What do you mean?" Glenn asked

"Look, I know we're all exhausted. This was a great win. But we gotta push just a little bit more. Most of the walkers are dressed as guards or prisoners, looks like this place fell pretty early. Could mean the supplies may be intact. They have an infirmary, a commissary..."

"An armory?" I asked him

"That would be outside the prison itself, but not too far away. Warden's offices would have info on the location. Weapons, food, medicine, this place could be a gold mine!"

"We're dangerously low on ammo. We'll run out before we make a dent." Hershel points out to him

"That's why we gotta go in there. Hand to hand. After all we've been through, we can handle it, I know it. These assholes don't stand a chance." Rick says and stands up then walked away

* * *

Rick opens the door that leads to the courtyard, T-Dog enters and stabs a walker, Daryl, Rick, Maggie, me and Glenn enter as well, we all start stabbing walkers in the head. In the meantime, Hershel, Carl, my mom, Lori and Beth try to draw the walkers to the fence in order to stab them through the wire.

"Almost there." Rick tells us as we walk and see another courtyard filled with walkers, we hide behind a wall. Two walkers come dressed as guards, so they have helmets on, Daryl shoots at one but it bounced off the helmet, Maggie kicks one. We keep trying to kill the guards but it's not easy with their helmets on, I kill a walker as Rick walks towards the courtyard filled with walkers in order to close it. He pushes a guard on the floor,"Daryl!" Daryl helps him kill the walkers on their way, and they manage to close the door of the courtyard.

Maggie kills one of the guards by stabbing him in the neck, Me, Glenn and T-Dog look impressed, "See that?" She asked and another one goes up to Glenn and T-Dog who kill it the same way Maggie did and so does Daryl.

Rick kicks a guard, takes off his helmet, and he takes off his skin as well, and stabs him in the head. Maggie kills another one, the courtyard where we are is now filled with bodies, "Stop." Rick tells Glenn as he started to the gate where the others were and we look around

"Looks secure." Glenn points out

"Not from the looks of that courtyard over there. And that's a civilian." Daryl tells him

"So the interior could be over run by walkers from outside the prison." I said

"Well, if there's walls, then, what are we gonna do? We can't rebuild this whole place." Glenn mentions

"We can't risk a blind spot. We have to push in." Rick tells us and we all walk towards a door leading to the prison. Daryl opens it and we wind up in an empty cell block and start looking out for walkers. Rick goes upstairs, then comes back down with keys and he opens the door leading to all the cells, and we walk in. Maggie and I see a dead prisoner in one of the cells. Daryl goes upstairs, Rick joins him, after it was all clear me, Maggie and Glenn go out to get the others;

"What do you think?" Rick asked us as we walk in

"Home sweet home." Glenn says and I chuckle

"For the time being." Rick adds

"It's secure?" Lori asked him

"This cell block is."

"What about the rest of the prison?" Hershel asked

"In the morning, we'll find the cafeteria, and the infirmary."

"We'll sleep in the cells?" Beth asked

"I found the keys on some guards. Daryl has a set too."

"I ain't sleeping in no cage. I'll take the perch." Daryl tells us from up top and I shake my head smiling then head up the stairs, he takes a mattress from the cell I walked into and brought it out to the perch, I walked up the stairs and set my bag down next to his and laid down on the mattress, I didn't care how bad it reeked, I just cared about the fact that we now had shelter. I looked up at Daryl as he pulled me into his arms and kissed me.

* * *

"Not bad" Daryl says as we stand around a table looking at the weapons we gathered up from the walkers

"Flash-bangs, CS Triple-Chasers. Not sure how they'd work on walkers, but we'll take them." Rick says and Daryl picks up a helmet with walker skin in it.

"I ain't wearing this shit." He says and I snorted

T-Dog picks up gloves in the same condition, "We could boil them."

"Ain't enough firewood in a whole forest, no! Besides, we've made it this far without them right?" Daryl asked lightly swinging a riot stick and my mom arrives.

"Hershel?" She asked and nodded her head to follow her

"Everything alright?" Rick asked her

"Yeah, nothing to worry about." She says and Hershel follows my mom into her cell.

* * *

T-Dog, Daryl, Carl, Rick, Hershel, Glenn, me and Maggie are preparing and arming ourselves, Daryl insisted I put on one of the riot vests so instead of arguing I agreed

"You won't need that," I hear Rick say walking over to Carl taking the helmet off him, "I need you to stay put."

"You're kidding!"

"We don't know what's in there. If something goes wrong, you could be the last man standing. I need you to handle things here." Rick convinces him

"Sure."

"Great, let's go." Rick tells us and we leave

We advance very carefully through the corridors where there are dead bodies on the floor. Glenn traces arrows so we can find our way back. Suddenly, we see a lot of walkers as we turn and go back running, followed by the walkers, "Go back, go back! Go back, move! This way!" Rick urges us and we start moving

"Where's Glenn and Maggie?" I asked looking back to see they weren't behind me anymore

"We have to go back!" Hershel tells us

"But which way?" Daryl asked and we open a door nearby very carefully and start searching for Glenn and Maggie.

"Maggie? Glenn?" Hershel quietly called and we made our way through the corridors, "Mag? Mag?" I hear him call and turned to see we walked away from us then suddenly I hear him scream, I go back and see a walker biting his leg and I kill it with my knife as Maggie and Glenn arrive.

"No! No, daddy! No!" Maggie cried, the walkers start coming on both sides. Rick and Glenn take Hershel and start running while supporting Hershel.

"Daryl!" Rick yells to him and he shoots an arrow at a walker and we try to move down the way we came but get cut off

"We're blocked!" I yelled and T-Dog pushes us back

"Get back, get back!"

We see a door, and manage to open it, "Get in, get in!" Daryl tells us pulling me into the room

"Oh, god! Oh god!" Hershel cries as me and Daryl secure the door so the walkers can't open it. Rick and Glenn lie Hershel down on the floor. Rick puts his belt on Hershel's leg to stop the bleeding, T-Dog tries to keep the door closed as I move over to help calm Hershel

"Hold him down! Alright. Only one way to keep him alive!" Rick takes an axe, and starts to cut off Hershel's leg, while Maggie and Glenn hold him down, Hershel passes out from the pain. Rick manages to cut off Hershel's leg, "Oh… He's bleeding out."

"Duck." I hear Daryl tell Rick who gets down and Daryl stands up pointing his crossbow and I stand up doing the same with my gun, we see 5 men standing behind a wall with a window, and one of them looked familiar to me

"Holy shit." One of them says

* * *

"Who the hell are you?" Daryl asked them moving over and I stay where I am still aiming my gun

"Who the hell are you?" The one that looked familiar to me asked

"He's bleeding out, we gotta go back!" Rick says to us, "Come around here. Put pressure on the knee! Hard! Hard! Push, push!" He tells Maggie

"Come on out of here. Slow and steady." Daryl tells the prisoners and they come out

"What happened to him?" The one asked

"He got bit." Daryl tells him and the one reached for his gun

"Bit?" he takes his gun and T-Dog threatens him with his gun.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, easy now. Nobody needs to get hurt." Daryl tells them and the one who grabbed his gun looked at me

"You?" He asked and I looked at him confused but Glenn walked by me then them

"You got medical supplies?" He asked them walking into the room they came out of

"Whoa where do you think you're going?" The tall one asked him and the walkers are still trying to come in the room.

"Who the hell are you people anyway?" The one who knows me asked

"Don't look like no rescue team!" the older one asked

"If a rescue team's what you're waiting for, don't!" Rick tells him and Glenn comes out with a table to carry Hershel, "Come on, we gotta go! Now! Come on, I need a hand here!" Glenn and Rick put Hershel on the table, "One, two, three, go!"

"Holy Jesus!" The older prisoner said

"T, the door!" Rick tells him and he moved back to the door

"Are you crazy? Don't open that!"

"We got this." T-Dog tells him and opens the door killing a walker that comes in. The others get out of the room, carrying Hershel on the table.

"Daryl! Phoebe!" Rick yells at us and the one prisoner is still pointing his gun at us as we back away to the door and walk out.

* * *

"This way!" Rick tells us as we rush back through the corridor but see walkers coming down one, "No, no, no, no, back, back! Daryl!"

Daryl kills a walker then grabbed his arrow, "Come on!"

We continue to walk through and see the prisoners following us, "Stop, stop!"

"Follow the flashlight, come on let's go!" One of them shouts

"Go, go, go, go, go, go, go!" Rick urged and we continue moving, Daryl opens a door and we're almost to our cell block. Maggie is still putting pressure on Hershel's knee.

"He's losing too much blood!"

"Open the door! It's Hershel! Carl, come on!" Rick yells to him and Carl opens the door then they rush in, I stay behind with Daryl, he gets his crossbow ready and I do the same with my gun pointing them at the door we came from as we hear footsteps approaching and the prisoners walk into the room.

"That's far enough." Daryl warns them and the first one looked at me

"Cell block C. Cell four, that's mine, gringo. Let me in." He tells Daryl

"Today's your lucky day, fellas. You've been pardoned by the state of Georgia, you're free to go."

"What you got going on in there?" He asked us

"Ain't none of your concern." Daryl tells him and the guy pulls his gun out of his pocket.

"Don't be telling me what's my concern."

"Chill, man. Dude's leg is messed up. Besides, we're free now! Why are we still in here?" The tall said to him

"Man's got a point." I mention

"Yeah, and I gotta check on my old lady." another prisoner said

"Group of civilians breaking into a prison you've got no business being in, got me thinking there ain't no place for us to go!" The guy with the gun said

"Why don't you go find out?" I asked him

"Maybe we'll just be going now." the older one says to him

"Hey, we ain't leaving!"

"You ain't coming here either!" T-Dog arrives with his gun aimed at the guy

"Hey, this is my house, my rules, I go where I damn well please!" He asked me, I stood there looking at him trying to remember him

"There ain't nothing for you here, why don't you go back to your own sandbox!" Daryl says to them and Rick came over to us

"Hey, hey, hey! Everyone relax, there's no need for this."

"How many of you in there?" the guy with the gun asked Rick

"Too many for you to handle."

"You guys rob a bank or something? Why don't you take him to a hospital?" the main one asked then it clicked

"How long have you been locked in that cafeteria?" Rick asked him

"Going on like ten months."

"A riot broke out. Never seen anything like it." The tall one mentioned

"Attica on speed, man." The older one added

"Ever heard about dudes going cannibal, dying, coming back to life? Crazy." Another one says

"One guard looked out for us, locked us up in the cafeteria, told us to sit tight, threw me this piece, said he'd be right back." The gun guy said

"And that was 292 days ago." The tall one points out

"94 according to my…" The older one started to say but Tomas cut him off

"Shut up!"

"We were thinking that the army or the national guard should be showing up any day now." The tall one mentioned

"There is no army." Rick tells them

"What do you mean?"

"There's no government, no hospitals, no police. It's all gone." I replied

"For real?" the older guy asked

"Serious." Rick says

"What about my moms?" The tall one asks

"My kids, my old lady!" The other one says, "Yo, you got a self-phone or something so we can call our families?"

"You don't get it, do you?" Daryl asked them

"No phones, no computers. As far as we can see, at least half the population's been wiped out. Probably more." Rick pointed out

"Ain't no way." The main one said

"See for yourself." Rick tells him and started to lead them outside when Daryl stopped me

"How does he know you?"

"Remember the robber that stabbed me?" I asked him and he nodded, "That was him, name is Tomas."

"He touches you I'll kill him"

"You would have to get in line" I said and we followed the others

"Damn, the sun feels good." The one prisoner says as we walk out the door

"Good Lord, they're all dead." The older man pointed out

"Never thought I'd be so happy to see these fences." Tomas says and looked at me but I ignored him and stood by the others

"You never said. How the hell did you get in here in the first place?" One prisoner asked

"Cut a hole in that fence over there by the guard tower." Daryl told him

"That easy, huh?"

"Where there's a will, there's a way." I add

"Easy for you to say." One of them says and the tall guy pokes one of the bodies with a stick.

"So what is this like a disease?" He asked

"Yeah, but we're all infected." Rick tells them

"What do you mean, infected? Like AIDS or something?" the older one asked

"If I was to kill you, shoot an arrow in your chest, you come back as one of these things. It's gonna happen to all of us."

"Ain't no way this Robin hood cast's responsible for killing all these freaks." Tomas mentioned and I snorted, if he only knew

"Must be fifty bodies out here." the small one said

"Where do you come from?" Tomas asked

"Atlanta." Rick answered

"Where you headed?" Tomas asks him

"For now, nowhere."

"I guess you could take that area down there near the water. Should be comfortable." Tomas told him and I shook my head

"We're using that field for crops."

"We'll help you move your gear out." Tomas tells us ignoring Rick

"That won't be necessary. We took out these walkers, this prison is ours."

"Slow down, cowboy." Tomas tells him

"You snatched the locks off our doors." The small one says to Rick

"We'll give you new locks, if that's how you want it."

"This is our prison. We were here first." Thomas said

"Locked in the broom closet? We took it, set you free, it's ours, we spilled blood." Rick argued

"We're moving back into our cell block, the girl can stay in mine with me." Tomas says looking at me and Daryl moved forward but I held him back

"You'll have to get your own." Rick says to him

"It is mine. I've still got personal artifacts in there, that's about as mine as it gets!" Tomas pulls his gun out, Daryl aimed his crossbow at him and I raised my gun

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, maybe let's try to make this work out so everybody wins!" The older man says trying to calm us down

"I don't see that happening." Tomas points out

"Neither do I." Rick adds

"I ain't coming back into that cafeteria for one minute." Tomas tells him

"There are other cell blocks." The older guys mentioned

"You could leave. Try your luck out on the road." I tell them

"If these four pussies can do all this, the least we can do is take out another cell block." Tomas said to the others

"With what?" The tall one asked him

"Atlanta here will spot us some real weapons. Won't you boss?"

"How stocked is that cafeteria? Must have plenty of food, five guys lasting almost a year?" Rick asked

"It sure as hell don't look like anybody's been starving." Daryl adds

"There's only a little left." Tomas tells Rick

"We'll take half. In exchange, we'll help clear out a cell block."

"Didn't you hear him? There's only a little left!" The small one argues

"Bet you've got more food than you've got choices. You pay, we'll play. We'll clear out a block for you, then you keep to it." Rick tells them

"Alright." Tomas says to him

"Well, let's be clear. If we see you out here, anywhere near our people, if I so much as even catch a whiff of your scent, I will kill you."

"Deal." Tomas said

* * *

"Pantry's back here!" Tomas says leading us to the cafeteria to check out how much food is left

"You never tried to break out of here?" T-Dog asked

"We tried to take the doors off. But if you make one peep in here, then those freaks will be lined up outside the door growling, trying to get in. Windows got bars on them that he-man couldn't get through." Oscar answered, we learned their names on our way bock down

"Bigger than a 5x8." Axel adds

"You won't find me complaining. Doing fifteen. My left leg can barely fit on one of those bunks." Big Tiny mentioned

"Yeah, they don't call him Big Tiny for nothing." Oscar pointed out

"You're done jerking each other off? I'm getting sick of waiting back here." Tomas tells us and I shook my head as we walked into the pantry and saw a bunch of food

"That's what you call a little bit of food?" Daryl asked Tomas moving over to him shining hs light around then moved past him

"Goes fast." Thomas says to him

"Mm-hmm."

"You can have a bag of corn, some tuna fish." Tomas tells Rick and I scoffed a little

"We said half. That's the deal." Rick says and moved over to a cooler door, "What's in there?"

"Don't open that." Big Tiny warned him but Rick opens the door, and the smell in the room is so bad he gags and I follow as the smell reached me

Thomas and his group laugh, "You wanted to know!" Thomas tells him and Rick shut it

"Can't wait for my own pot to piss in." Axel says

* * *

"Food's here!" T-Dog called into the block and Carl comes and opens the door

"What you got?" Carl asked him

"Canned beef, canned corn, canned cans! There's a lot more where this came from!" T-Dog answered and I shook my head smiling as we brought it into one of the cells

"Any change?" Rick asked Lori as we came back out

"Bleeding is under control and no fever, but his breath is labored, his pulse is way down and he hasn't opened his eyes yet."

"Take my cuffs, put them on him. I'm not taking any chances." Rick tells Glenn who reluctantly takes them

* * *

"Why do I need this, when I've got this" Tomas asked showing his gun and I rolled my eyes

"You don't fire guns. Not unless your back's up against the wall. Noise attracts them, really riles them up." Daryl answered from next to me

"We'll go in three by two by two. Daryl will run point with Phoebe and T, I'll bring up the rear with you," Rick points to Andrew, "Stay tight, hold formation, no matter how close the walkers get. Anyone breaks ranks, we could all go down, anyone runs off, they could get mistaken for a walker, end up with an axe to the head."

"And that's where you aim. These things only go down with a head shot." I tell them

"Ain't gotta tell us how to take out a man." Tomas says with a smirk and I rolled my eyes again as Daryl glared at him

"They ain't men. They're something else." T-Dog points out

"Just remember, go for the brain." Rick tells them and we head out

* * *

The prisoners and us are walking slowly through the corridors in order to see if there is any walkers, "Man, it's too damn dark in here!" Big Tiny says

"Gotta hold it up high out in front of you." I tell him indicating his axe, "You're gonna hear 'em before you see 'em."

Just then we hear growling, "It's coming!" Axel yells

"Shhh!" Rick says and we see the walkers shadow on the wall coming towards us and Daryl stops us

Before we can do anything, the prisoners run towards the walkers, screaming, and start to attack them by aiming somewhere else than in the head.

"You wanna taste me?" Axel stabs the walker in its stomach and we look at the prisoners failing to kill the walker.

* * *

"It's gotta be the brain!" Daryl tells them as we walk through the other corridor, "Not the stomach, not the heart, the brain!"

Another walker arrives, "I hear you, the brain." Axel says and Oscar stabs the walker in the head, but more arrive.

"Like that?" He asked Daryl

"Uh-uh."

Axel and Rick kill two walkers, "Stay in tight formation, no more prison riot crap!" Rick tells them and more walkers come, the prisoners start killing them and I stabbed the one that came through the door then we hear screaming and move back round the corner to see that Big Tiny was bitten, Rick killed one of them and Tomas shot the other, I looked between him and Rick.

"I'm telling you! I don't feel anything, it's just a scratch!" Big Tiny tells us as Rick looked at it

"I'm sorry man…"

"I can keep fighting!" Big Tiny defended

"You cut that old guy's leg off to save his life!" Axel says

"Look at where the bite is!" I tell him

"Guys, I'm fine! Just… I'm fine. Look, look at me, I'm not changing into one of those things." Big Tiny pleaded

"Look, man, there's gotta be something we can do, we could just lock him up!" Oscar says

"Quarantine him!" Axel adds

"We gotta do something! Why are you just standing there, we gotta save him!" Andrew yelled at us

"There's nothing we can do." Rick tells him

"You son of a bitch!"

"I'm al…" Big Tiny started to say but Tomas stabs him in the head, and continues stabbing him with a hammer. His face is full of blood as he stands up and looks at all of us and he walks away.

* * *

"You see the look on his face?" Daryl asked Rick about Tomas

"He makes one move…"

"Just give me a signal." I tell him and they both look at me and we reach the entrance of the cell block

We arrive in a room which contains a set of two doors leading to the cell block where the prisoners would live. Daryl gives Tomas the keys, "I ain't opening that." Tomas tells him

"Yes, you are. If you want this cell block, you're gonna open that door. Just the one, not both of them. Because we need to control this." Rick tells him and we hear the walkers behind the door.

Thomas picks up the keys, "You bitches ready?" He asked and tries to open the door, but it won't open, "I got this." He opens both doors and walkers come in.

"I said one door!" Rick yells at him

"Shit happens!"

We all start killing the walkers and at one point I look over at Rick who is by Tomas. When stabbing a walker, Tomas almost stabs Rick too, on purpose. He then sends a walker on Rick, who falls on the ground.

"T, mind the gap!" Daryl yells and stabs the walker and saving Rick

After we killed all the walkers I look at Daryl who nods at me and I get my machinate ready standing behind Thomas

"He was coming at me, bro!" Thomas says to Rick who look at me and I gave him a nod

"Yeah… Yeah, I get it. I get it. Shit happens." Rick tells him and nods his head, I quickly raised my machete and brought it down on his head killing him

"No!" Andrew yells and tries to attack me with a baseball bat, but Rick kicks him, and Daryl threatens him with his crossbow.

"Easy now." Daryl warns him and Andrew runs away, Rick follows him, while Daryl, me and T-Dog stay in the room with Axel and Oscar. "Hey, get down on your knees!" Daryl tells Oscar who kneels down

"We don't have no affiliation to what just happened! Tell him, Oscar!" Axel pleads

"Stop talking man."

* * *

"We didn't have nothing to do with that." Oscar tells Rick who's pointing his gun at him

"You didn't know? You knew! Daryl, let's end this now!" Rick points his gun at Axel's face, and Daryl puts his knife on Oscar's neck.

"Sir, please, please listen to me! It was them that was bad! It wasn't us!" Axel begged

"Oh, that's convenient!" Rick says to him

"You saw what he did to Tiny! He was my friend! Please! We ain't like that! I like my pharmaceuticals, but I'm no killer! Oscar here, he's a B and E and he ain't very good at it neither! We ain't the violent kind, they were! Please! Please, I swear to god! I wanna live!"

Rick goes back to Oscar pointing his gun at his head, "What about you?"

"I ain't never pleaded for my life. And I ain't about to start now. So you do what you gotta do."

* * *

We bring the prisoner's to their cell block, Rick and Daryl push Axel and Oscar inside and there are bodies everywhere.

"Oh man! I knew these guys, they were good men." Axel says

"Let's go." Rick tells Daryl as I stand by the door with T-Dog

"So you're just gonna leave us in here? Man, this is sick!" Oscar says to him

"We're locking down the cell block. From now on, this part of the prison is yours. Take it or leave it, that was the deal."

"You think this is sick? You don't wanna know what's outside." Daryl adds

"Consider yourselves the lucky ones." Rick mentioned

"Sorry about your friends man." Daryl says to Axel

"Word of advice : take those bodies outside and burn them." T-Dog tell them and we leave.

* * *

"Hershel stopped breathing, mom saved him." Carl tells Rick as we walk back into our cell block

"Still no fever." Lori adds and I stand next to her

Hershel opens his mouth, Maggie sits next to him and we all look at him as he opens his eyes. "Daddy?" Maggie asked

"Daddy! Daddy!" Beth says going down next to him and she laughs, Rick takes Hershel's cuffs off. Hershel grabs Rick's hand, we all smile and I hug Lori who returned it and she leaves the cell then Rick follows.

I head up to an empty cell and change my clothes, when I was done there was a knock on the wall, I turned and saw Daryl, "Doin' okay?"

"Yeah" I lied and grabbed my water that I used for washing and grabbed a rag

"Pheebs"

"It's just...the first person I've killed who wasn't dead and eating people." I tell him and he pulled me to him

"I'm sorry you did that"

"Don't be, he deserved it" I tell him and he kissed me, "You should change, you smell like ass" I tell him and he pushed me

"Think your funny?"

"I know I'm funny, just one of my many charms." I tell him with a smirk and he walked over to me backing me into the wall

"That ain't your only charm" He says and I wrap my arms around his neck as he kissed me deeply, I put my fingers in his hair and he gripped my hips, it was driving me crazy that we haven't had a private moment to ourselves in 8 months, every time we did we would have to move again.

"I am all for continuing this but the other's will hear."

He sighed and kissed me once more, "Guard tower?"

"Maggie and Glenn are gonna do watch tonight."

He grumbled, "Tomorrow."

"It's a date" I tell him and kissed him then he left while I finished cleaning myself up


	8. Chapter 8

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

"Alright, let's get the other cars in. We'll park 'em in the west entry of the yard." Rick tells us as me and my mom walk over from moving a couple cars

"Good. Our vehicles camped out there look like a giant "vacancy" sign!" Daryl says and I shook my head

"After that, we need to load up these corpses so we can burn them." Rick adds

"It's gonna be a long day…" T-Dog pointed out and I slung my arm around his shoulder

"Oh don't be a whimp!" I tell him and he poked my side causing me to jerk and I punched him in the arm

"Where's Glenn and Maggie? We could use some help." Carol asked

"Up in the guard tower." Daryl says and I looked at him with a smirk

"Guard tower? They were just up there last night!" Rick mentioned and we look at the top of the guard tower.

"Glenn! Maggie!" Daryl calls and Glenn comes out of the tower, he has no shirt on and is buttoning his pants.

"Hey! What's up guys?"

We all laugh at the sight of Glenn, "You comin'?" Daryl asked and I smacked his arm at the his comment while smiling

"What?" Glenn asked confused and we keep laughing

"You comin'?" Daryl asked again, "Come on, we could use a hand!" he tells Glenn

"Yeah, we'll be right down!"

We walk toward the cars, still laughing, "Real mature" I tell him and he wrapped both his arms around my shoulders from behind as we continued walking

"Hey Rick!" I hear T-Dog tell him and I followed where he was looking, Rick stops smiling immediately when we see the two prisoners Axel and Oscar out of their cell block, walking towards us

"Come with me." Rick tells us and we walk with him over to them, "That's close enough. We had an agreement."

"Please, mister. We know that, we made a deal. But you gotta understand! We can't live in that place another minute, you follow me? All the bodies, people we knew! Blood, brains everywhere! There's ghosts!" Axel pleaded

"Why don't you move the bodies out?" Daryl asked him

"You should be burning them." T-Dog adds

"We tried! We did!"

"The fence is down on the far side of the prison. Every time we drag a body out, those things just line up. So just dropping a body and just running back inside." Oscar mentioned

"Look! We had nothing to do with Thomas and Andrew, nothing! You trying to prove a point? You proved it, bro! We'll do whatever it takes to be a part of your group, just, please, please, don't make us live in that place!" Axel begs

"Our deal is not negotiable. You either live in your cell block, or you leave." Rick tells them

"I told you this was a waste of time. They ain't no different than the pricks who shot up our boys." Oscar says to Axel and looked at us, "You know how many friends' corpses we had to drag out this week? Just threw 'em out like…Those were good guys! Good guys who had our backs against the really bad dudes in the joint like Thomas and Andrew. Now, we've all made mistakes to get in here, chief, and I'm not gonna pretend to be a saint, but believe me… we paid our due. Enough that we would rather hit that road, than to go back into that shit hole." He defended and Rick looks at Daryl who says no with his head.

Daryl locks them back inside and walked over to us, "Are you serious? You want them living in a cell next to you? They'll just be waiting for a chance to grab our weapons, you want to go back to sleeping with one eye open?" Rick asked T-Dog as he tried to change Rick's mind

"I never stopped. Bring them into the fold. If we send them off packing, we might as well execute them ourselves." He tells him

"I don't know, Axel seems a little unstable." Glenn pointed out

"After all we've been through? We fought so hard for all this, what if they decide to take it?" My mom asked

"It's just been us for so long…they're strangers. I don't… it feels weird all of a sudden to have these other people around." Maggie pointed out

"You brought us in." T-Dog tells her

"Yeah, but you turned up with a shot boy in your arms, didn't give us a choice."

"They can't even kill walkers!" Glenn says

"They're convicts, bottom line!" my mom added

"Those two might actually have less blood on their hands than we do." T-Dog pointed out

"I get guys like this. Hell, I grew up with them. They're degenerates, but they ain't psychos. I could have been with them just as easy as I'm out here with you guys." Daryl mentioned and he brought up a good point

"So you with me?" T-Dog asked him

"Hell no! Let 'em take their chances out on the road, just like we did!"

"What he's saying, Daryl…" I started to say but Rick cut me off

"When I was a rookie, I arrested this kid. Nineteen years old, wanted for stabbing his girlfriend. The kid blubbered like a baby during the interrogation, during the trial, suckered the jury. He was acquitted due to insufficient evidence, and in 2 weeks later shot another girl. We've been through too much. Our deal with them stands."

* * *

"Move the cars to the upper yard. Point them facing out. They'll be out of the way but ready to go if we ever need to bail." Rick tells us and Daryl tossed his keys to Glenn, "We'll give the prisoners a week's worth of supplies for the road." He tells T-Dog

"Might not last a week." T-Dog pointed out

"Their choice!"

"Did they really have one?" T-Dog asked him

"Hey! Hey, whose blood would you rather have on your hands? Maggie's, Glenn's, or theirs?"

"Neither." T-Dog replied and the others are moving the cars to another place.

"Twin cylinder, is that a Triumph?" Axel asked Daryl who was standing at his bike

"Don't even look at it." Daryl tells him gets on starting it up

"Didn't want it bored out? Sounds like it could use a tune-up, I'm pretty handy with the grind! Heads are leakin'! I know my bikes!" Axel yells at us as he leaves and I get into Shane's old car and follow

* * *

My mom locked the gate then her, me, Maggie and T-Dog started moving cars while Glenn, Daryl and Rick went out to the field.

I get out of the truck I backed up and see Lori, Beth, Carl and Hershel walking outside and I smile.

"All right Hershel!" I hear Glenn yell from the other side and I looked over at him then Maggie putting my arm around her shoulder as she smiled at her dad

"Walkers! Look out!" Carl yelled and we see a bunch of them going to where they were at, Maggie and I ran to the others.

"T-Dog get my mom!" I yell at him and killed a walker

"Phoebe!" I hear Daryl yell as I shoot a walker

"Get out of there! Go!" Rick yelled, me and Maggie made our way over to one of our cell block

"Lori! Here!" Maggie tells her and they both ran over to us and we went in and headed to the cells but got cut off when walkers walked out of it.

"This way!" I tell them standing by Carl while Lori stood by Maggie and we headed to the doors of the corridors and Maggie closed the gate

* * *

We make our way through the corridors as while an alarm keeps going off and I see Lori lean on the wall and grunts, I move over to support her, "Can you keep up?" I asked her

"Something's not right…"

"Are you bit?" Carl asked

"No, no, no, no, no. I think the baby's coming!"

"Oh shit" I said

"Mom?" Carl asked and we hear walkers coming

"No, there's no time!" Maggie tells him as he was about to shoot them and Maggie takes over holding Lori while me and Carl took the front and we try to walk as fast as possible. Walkers arrive on the other side of the corridor.

"In here!" Carl tells us opening a door and we go inside then Lori leans on a wall and grunts in pain, me, Carl and Maggie look at each other with worry

* * *

"What are those alarms?" Lori asked in pain

"Don't worry about that." I tell her

"What if it attracts them?" Carl asked and I put my hand on his shoulder

"Lori, let's lay you down." Maggie says to her

"No, the baby's coming now."

"We have to go back to our cell block to have Hershel help!" Carl brings up

"We can't risk getting caught out there, you're gonna need to give birth to this baby here." Maggie says to Lori

"Great." Lori is panting in pain.

"What is she doing, can't she breathe?" Carl asked

"She's fine." I reassured him

"Come here, let's get your pants off." Maggie tells her and unbuckles Lori's pants and helps her lay down

"You're gonna need to help deliver your baby brother or sister, you up for it?" Maggie asked Carl taking Lori's pants off and he nodded, "Let me do an exam to see if your dilated." Maggie tells her and I move down and support Lori's shoulders

"Do you know how?" Carl asked Maggie

"Dad taught me, but trust me, it's my first time," She says and tries to examine Lori, "I can't tell…"

"I gotta push." Lori tells her and stands up with my help, Maggie supports her as she pushes and I stay down in case the baby comes out, "Somebody!" Lori strained, "I'm okay, I'm okay… I'm okay."

"You're doing great, Lori. Just keep doing it. Your body knows what to do. Let it do all the work." Maggie reassured her, "You're doing great."

"Lori, stop, don't push, something's wrong!" I yell and Lori screamed, I pull my hand away and Maggie looks at the blood that's on it then we look at each other.

* * *

"Mom? Mom, look at me, look at me, keep your eyes open!" Carl tells her as we lay her on the floor

"We have to get you back to Dad." Maggie adds

"I won't make it."

"Lori, with all this blood, I don't even think you're fully dilated yet, no amount of pushing is gonna help." Maggie mentioned

"I know what it means, and I'm not losing my baby. You've gotta cut me open." Lori says and I look at Maggie

"No, I can't."

"You don't have a choice." Lori tells her

"I'll go for help." Carl said

"No!" Lori yells to him

"Look, Carol's the one that practiced that, Dad only taught me the steps Lori, if I…" Maggie started to say

"Please…" Lori begged her

"I have no anesthetic, no equipment…"

"Carl has a knife" Lori says

"You won't survive." Maggie adds

"My baby has to survive… Please…My baby, for all of us… Please, Maggie! Please." She begs and I try to fight back the tears as Maggie shakes her head no, "Please…"

* * *

"See my old C-section scar?" Lori asked Maggie as I knelt behind her supporting her head

"I can't." Maggie said crying

"You can. You have to. Carl? Baby, I don't want you to be scared, okay? This is what I want. This is right. Now you-you take care of your daddy for me, all right? And your little brother or sister, you take care…" Lori tells him

"You don't have to do this."

"You're gonna be fine…you are gonna beat this world, I know you will. You are smart, and you are strong, and you are so brave! And I love you." She says and they start crying

"I love you too."

"You gotta do what's right, baby. You promise me, you'll always do what's right. It's so easy to do the wrong thing in this world. So don't… so if it feels wrong, don't do it, all right? If it feels easy don't do it. Don't let the world spoil you. You're so good! You're my sweet boy! The best thing I ever did! I love you! I love you. You're my sweet, sweet boy, I love you." Lori says with her voice breaking and Carl hugs her, "Okay… okay, now. Okay. Maggie, when this is over, you're gonna have to…"

"Shh…"

"No, you have to do it, it can't be Rick." Lori tells her and looked at me, "Alright, alright, it's alright. It's alright…" Carl gives Maggie his knife, "Goodnight, love."

"I'm sorry…" Maggie tells her and cut Lori open following her old scar, Lori starts screaming from the pain.

"You're killing her!" Carl yells at Maggie and Lori's head falls in my lap, and her eyes close, she dies.

"Carl, give me your hands." Maggie tells him, "Keep the site clean, okay? I cut too deep, I'm gonna cut the baby. Okay…Okay, come on, I see it, I see the ears. I'm gonna pull it out." Maggie said reaching inside trying to feel around, "I can't tell if this is the arm or the leg." She points out, "Okay, I'm gonna pull the baby out." I pull it out but it doesn't move or scream

"Maggie?" I asked her and she tried tapping its foot then moved it so it was laying face down in her arms and tapped it's back. Finally, it works and the baby starts crying. Carl gives her his vest to put on the baby and she wrapped it up

"We have to go." Maggie tells us and I look down at Lori

"Well, we can't just leave her here, she'll turn." Carl tells us and Maggie tries to get her gun out while holding the baby, "No..." Carl says and I see his gun

"Carl…" I started to say

"She's my mom." He says and I look at him then Lori, after a moment Maggie and I leave with the baby

Maggie opens the door, and we see walkers in the corridor, so we goes back in. As we make our way back down we hear a gun shot then Carl walks out moving past us, tears run down my face and Maggie put her hand on my shoulder and we followed him

* * *

"Daryl and Glenn, you come with me…" I hear Rick say as we walked out of the entrance, Rick turns around, I open the gate and we enter the courtyard. Me and Maggie are crying unable to say a word, Daryl puts his crossbow down and rushes over to me as I lose it crying into his shoulder. Rick moves towards us, "Where is… where is she?" He asked and I see him try to go back in the prison, but Maggie stops him.

"No, Rick, don't!"

He starts crying, and looks at Carl, "Oh no…. No! No!" Rick continues to cry and Daryl pulls me him and I cry into his shoulder again.

* * *

"Where's my mom?" I asked the others

"T-dog got bit and led her away, I found this" Daryl tells me handing my mom's head scarf and my legs give out, "Phoebe, Phoebe"

"Is-is she?" I asked and he stayed quiet, "No" I whispered and he pulled me to him and I cried into his shoulder, my mom can't be dead she just can't.

"Glenn," Daryl says and I feel Glenn put his hand on my shoulder pulling me into a hug as Daryl bent in front of Rick, "Rick, you with me? Rick?" Daryl asked and Rick just looked out into space

"Let me see the baby." Hershel tells Maggie and she brings him over

"We're gonna feed it. We got anything a baby can eat?" Daryl asked

"The good news is she looks healthy. But she needs formula. And soon, or she won't survive."

"No. No way. Not her. We ain't losing nobody else. I'm going for a run." Daryl says putting his crossbow over his shoulder

"I'll back you up." Maggie tells him

"I'll go too." Glenn adds pulling away from me

"Okay, think where we're going. Beth." Daryl pulls her aside whispering something to her, "You two get the fence, to many pile we got ourselves a problem." He says to Oscar and Axel, "Glenn, Maggie vamanos" He says and Rick grabbed his ax then ran back inside

"Rick!" I yelled after him but he kept going

"Get the gate." Daryl says and I followed him, "Come on, we're gonna lose the light." He says to Maggie and Glenn and they followed us

"There's a Piggly Wiggly on 85." Glenn pointed out as we head to the cars

"No, the baby section's been cleared. Lori asked me to keep an eye out. I haven't had much luck." Maggie tells him

"Is there any place that hasn't been completely looted?" I asked

"We saw signs for a shopping center just north of here." Glenn answered

"Yeah, but there's too much debris on the road. The car will never get through there." Maggie mentioned

"I can take one of you." Daryl says putting his vest on then looked at me, "I'll be back, I promise"

I kissed him not wanting to let go but pulled away and looked at him, "I love you, please careful"

He gave me a quick peck, "Always am, I love you too" He says and Maggie gets behind him on the bike and they drive off, I look at Glenn and put my arm through his and we headed back up to the prison.

* * *

I was sitting next to Carl later that night holding the baby trying to calm her down when Daryl and Maggie walked in, Daryl puts his crossbow down, "How's she doing?" He asked me reaching for her and I put the baby in his arms, "Shh. I'm sorry. Shh..." Beth walked back over and handed him a bottle and he tries to give it to her, "She got a name yet?" Daryl asked Carl

"Not yet. But I was thinking maybe Sofia. Then there's Carol, too. And...Andrea. Amy. Jacqui. Patricia. Or... Lori. I don't know." He says and I put my hands on his shoulders and looked at Daryl as he fed the baby

"You like that? Huh? Little ass-kicker. Right?" He asked looking at us with a smile and I shook my head, "That's a good name, right? Little ass-kicker. You like that, huh? You like that, sweetheart?" He asked in a soft voice, watching him hold her and feed her made me fall more in love with him, who knows, maybe we can have one someday.

* * *

The next morning I walked out of the prison to look around and I saw Daryl standing at the graves so I made my way down to him, "Hey"

"Hey" He replied and I saw my mom's scarf hanging from her marker

"Is it ever gonna stop? Are we ever going to stop losing people?" I asked and looked over at Lori's grave then I feel Daryl wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

"I hope so baby" He says kissing my head and I tried to fight tears looking at my mom's marker.

* * *

We all sat around the next morning eating cold oatmeal, not very good oatmeal but can't be to picky nowadays, I looked over at Carl who was just looking into his bowl, "Hey buddy, you need to eat." I tell him rubbing his back and he picked up his spoon but didn't do anything.

"Everybody okay?" Rick asked walking into the room from the corridors

"Yeah, we are." Maggie tells him and he walks over to us

"What about you?" Hershel asked him

"I cleared out the boiler block."

"How many were there?" I asked

"I don't know. A dozen, two dozen. I have to get back. Just wanted to check on Carl." He says lightly patting Carl on the back

"Rick, we can handle taking out the bodies. You don't have to." Glenn tells him standing up

"No, I do. Everyone have a gun and a knife?" He asked Daryl walking over to him

"Yeah. We're running low on ammo, though."

"Maggie, Glenn and me were planning on making a run this afternoon. Found a phone book with some places we can hit, look for bullets and formula." I tell him and Daryl looked at me, he wasn't to happy about me wanting to go on this run, but I needed to get my mind off the lose of my mom

"We cleared out the generator room. Axel's there trying to fix it in case of emergency. We're gonna sweep the lower levels as well." Daryl adds

"Good, good." He says heading back to the door and shuts it

"Rick" Hershel called after him but nothing

* * *

"We just hit the powdered formula jackpot." Glenn says walking out with a few more things

"Oh, thank God." I tell him grabbing some stuff and putting it them in the truck

"I also got beans, batteries, cocktail wieners, many mustard's. It's a straight shot back to the prison from here. Probably make it in time for dinner." He tells me and put the other stuff in there as I grabbed the basket with formula

"I like the quiet. Back there, back home, you can always hear them outside the fence no matter where you are." Maggie pointed out

"And where is it y'all good people are calling home?" We hear someone say behind us and I drop the basket taking out my gun

"Merle?" I asked

"Wow!" He exclaimed putting his gun down and started to come closer to us

"Hey, back the hell up!" Maggie yells at him still holding up her gun

"Okay, okay, honey. Jesus."

"You made it." Glenn mentioned

"Can you tell me, is my little brother alive? Huh?" He asked Glenn

"Yeah." Glenn replied and he smiled and sighed in relief

"Hey, you take me to him and I'll call it even on everything that happened up there in Atlanta. No hard feelings. Huh?" He asked and I glanced at his hand, or well the metal thing that was covering his hand, "You like that? Yeah. Well, I found myself a medical supply warehouse. Fixed it up myself. Well, pretty cool, huh?"

"We'll tell Daryl you're here and he'll come out to meet you." Glenn says to him

"Hold on. Just hold up." He tells us and started to move forward

"Whoa. Whoa."

"Hold up here. Hold up. Hey, the fact that we found each other is a miracle. Come on, now. You can trust me." He begs

"You trust us. You stay here." Glenn tells him and he chuckled then after a pause he reached and grabbed a gun from his pants and shot at the truck, me and Glenn both ducked out of the way then moved around the truck seeing Merle on the ground holding Maggie with his gun pointed at her

"No! Hey, hey, hold up, buddy, hold up."

"Let go of her. Let go of her!" Glenn yells at him as we point our guns at him

"Put that gun in the car. Put it in the car, son. You too sweet cheeks." Glenn puts the gun in and raised his hands then I did the same, "There you go. Now we're gonna go for a little drive."

"We're not going back to our camp." I tell him

"No, we're going somewhere else. Get in the car, Glenn! You're driving! Move!"

"Don't." Glenn pleaded to him while Merle still held the gun to Maggie

"Get up." Merle tells her and we get in the truck and Glenn started it driving off, not knowing where we were headed.

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

"Rick. Who the hell is this?" I asked coming out of the cell block

"You wanna tell us your name?" Rick asked her but she stayed quiet, "You wanna tell us your name?" He asked again but she just looked at him

"Y'all come on in here." I tell the others and Rick stood up

"Everything all right?"

"You're gonna wanna see this." I said, they followed me and looked into the cell I was standing at where Carol was sitting

"Oh, God." She says slowly standing up and hugged Rick

"Thank God. Thank God. Thank God." Rick says hugging her

"How?" Hershel asked as she hugged him

"Solitary."

"Poor thing fought her way into a cell. Must have passed out. Dehydrated." I told the, and Beth walked over with the baby. Carol looked at the baby then Rick, he didn't say anything just gave a small nod and tears form in Carol's eyes and Rick started to cry as well

"I'm sorry. Oh, God." She says and walked over to the baby

* * *

"We can tend to that wound for you, give you a little food and water, and then send you on your way. But you're gonna have to tell us how you found us and why you were carrying formula." Rick tells the woman as me and him walked out of the block over to her

"The supplies were dropped by a young Asian guy with 2 pretty girls." _Phoebe_

"What happened? Were they attacked?" Hershel asked her

"They were taken."

"Taken? By who?" I asked

"By the same son of a bitch who shot me."

"Hey, these are our people. You tell us what happened now!" Rick says and pushed on her wound

"Don't you ever touch me again!" She yells standing up and I raised my crossbow

"You'd better start talking. You're gonna have a much bigger problem than a gunshot wound." I warned her

"Find 'em yourself."

"Hey, shh, shh, shh. Put it down." Rick told me, "You came here for a reason." He said to her

"There's a town. Woodbury. About 75 survivors. I think they were taken there."

"A whole town?" Rick asked

"It's run by this guy who calls himself the Governor- pretty boy, charming, Jim Jones type."

"He got muscle?" I ask her

"Paramilitary wannabes. They have armed sentries on every wall."

"You know a way in?" Rick asked

"The place is secure from walkers, but we could slip our way through."

"How'd you know how to get here?" Rick asked her

"They mentioned a prison, said which direction it was in, that it was a straight shot."

"This is Hershel, the father of the girl who was taken. He'll take care of that." Rick tells her pointing to her wound and we walked away

* * *

"How do you know we can trust her?" Oscar asked

"This is Maggie, Phoebe and Glenn. Why are we even debating?" Beth asked as well

"We ain't. I'll go after them." I tell them, I'm not losing Phoebe

"Well, this place sounds pretty secure. You can't go alone."

"I'll go." Beth says

"Me, too." Axel added

"I'm in." Oscar says as well

* * *

"I got the flash bangs and I got the tear gas. You never know what you're gonna need." I told the others as we loaded up and I walked over to Carol, "Stay safe" I tell her

"9 lives remember?" She says holding the baby, "Bring my daughter back" She tells me and I nodded then got on my bike and we left

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

I was sitting in a room of a warehouse I do believe looking around while trying to undo my hands when the door opened, "Well looky here." Merle says walking in then pulled up a chair sitting across from me, "Haven't seen you since.."

"Since the quarry, when you went on that run and got your ass handcuffed to a roof" I tell him not showing any expression, he may be Daryl's brother but he still took us and not 5 minutes ago I heard him beating Glenn up.

"That's right, thanks to your fellow officer I'm the proud owner of this." He says holding his metal arm up, "How's my baby brother doing? You two were pretty close last I remember"

I had an internal debate whether I should tell him me and Daryl are together or not, would it give me an advantage or no?, "He's ok, he's a pretty valuable member of our group now." I tell him and he nodded his head

"I heard about what happened to your sister, I'm sorry about that, really" He tells me and I looked at him confused, "Little birdie told me"

"Thank you" was all I said and he leaned back

"So, since we're sitting here bonding and everything, you and the rest must have a decent set up going."

"We do" I answered

"Mind telling me where it's at? I just wanna see my brother" He says and I almost feel my heart break for him, Daryl misses him even though he doesn't want to admit it.

"I can't, I'm sorry."

"Hmm..well then I guess I'll let the main man try to convince you" He tells me standing up

"Merle," I said and he looked at me, "Just so you know, Daryl, he really did try to look for you, when he came back after finding...your hand, he was pretty broken up even though he didn't show it."

"Except to you huh?" He asked sitting on the edge of the table in front of me

"Like you said, we're pretty close"

He grabbed the chair and moved it closer to me then sat back down, "You two bumping uglies?" He asked and I just looked at him, partly hoping my eyes would give away the answer, "You are ain't ya. Whoa!" He said while laughing, "My baby brother finally getting some in this shit world, how 'bout that. Well then, I guess this practically makes us family, and I don't hurt my family." He tells me and stood up, "I can't say the same for the guy coming in next" He says and walked out, I sighed then tried to undo my hands again, stupid duck tape.

* * *

Like Merle promised the next guy that came in wasn't so nice, from what I gathered he wasn't the main guy, but this one had no problem hitting a woman, but I can take it, all the times my dad has hurt me for getting in front of my mom and being a cop before all this.

"All right, that's enough. Bring her." I hear another guy say from the doorway and the jerk who was hitting me undid my hands from the chair, covered my head and stood me up making me walk

"On your feet! Move!" I hear another guy yell I can only assume to Maggie or Glenn or both, we continued walking when there was a loud bang and the guy holding me let go but then I feel another pair of hands grab me and my hood gets removed revealing Daryl, I wanted to hug him but gun shots went off and we had to move then we got out of the building and hid inside another one.

"Inside, quick" Rick tells us and we head into another building and Glenn fell to the floor, Maggie knelt down next to him then Daryl pulled me into a hug then looked at me

"Are you okay?" He asked looking at my face

"I'm fine, I'm fine, I promise I've had worse" I tell him and he kissed my head and walked away

"Ain't no way out back here." Daryl pointed out as he looked for an exit and I knelt down next to Glenn and Maggie

"Rick, how did you find us?" Maggie asked him

"How bad are you hurt?" Rick asked Glenn

"I'll be all right."

"Where's that woman?" Maggie asked

"She was right behind us." Rick answered and looked out a window

"Maybe she was spotted." Oscar mentioned

"Want me to go look for her?" Daryl asked Rick

"No. We gotta get them out of here. She's on her own."

"Daryl, this was Merle. It was. He did this." Glenn told him I looked at Daryl as he walked over

"You saw him?" He asked him

"Face to face. Threw a walker at me. He was gonna execute us."

"S-So my brother's this governor?" Daryl asked

"No, it's somebody else. Your brother's his lieutenant or something." I replied as Glenn put on a sweatshirt Maggie handed him

"Does he know I'm still with you?" Daryl asks

"He does now. Rick, I'm sorry. We told him where the prison was. We couldn't hold out." Glenn told him

"Don't. No need to apologize."

"They're gonna be looking for us." Maggie pointed out

"We have to get back. Can you walk? We got a car a few miles out." He asked Glenn

"I'm good."

"All right." Rick says and helps Glenn stand up

"Hey, if Merle's around, I need to see him." Daryl said to Rick

"Not now. We're in hostile territory."

"He's my brother. I ain't-" Daryl started to say but Rick cut him off

"Look at what he did! Look, we gotta- we gotta get out of here now."

"Maybe I can talk to him. Maybe I can work something out." Daryl argued

"No, no, no. You're not thinking straight. Look, no matter what they say, they're hurt. Glenn can barely walk, Phoebe got beat up. How are we gonna make it out if we get overrun by walkers and this governor catches up to us? I need you." Rick tells Daryl, "Are you with me?" He asked, Daryl and I shared a look before Daryl looked at Rick

"Yeah." Daryl replied and we got ready to head out, Daryl handed me my gun and I checked the clip.

"On three, stay tight," Rick tells us as Daryl held a flash bang, I stayed by Maggie and Glenn helping to hold him up, "One, two, three" Rick says and opened the door, Daryl threw it out

"Hey over there!" Someone yelled

"Let's go" Rick says and we made our way out the door after it went off

"There they are" A guard on the wall said and Rick shoots at him killing him, Daryl shoots another one and shots go off behind us

"Behind you!" Daryl yelled and we both shot in that direction

"Go! Get cover! In there!" Rick tells us as we make our way over to a building ducking behind the pilars, "How many?" Rick asked Oscar

"I didn't see"

"Don't matter there's gonna be more of them" Daryl pointed out

"We need to move" I add and reached around Maggie shooting at the men

"Any grenades left?" Rick asked Daryl

"Uh huh"

"Get them ready. We got to gun it to the wall" Rick told us

"You guys go ahead I'm gonna lay down some cover fire" Daryl says and I look at him

"No we gotta stay together" I tell him

"Too hairy, I'll be right behind you"

"Daryl.." I started to say

"This isn't up for debate" He argued and I held back tears, "Ready?" He asked the others and threw a smoke grenade, we made our way to the wall while Daryl stayed behind a bench firing at the other shooters. Suddenly I see Oscar get shot and Glenn yelled for Maggie, she stood up and shot Oscar in the head then headed up the bus

"Daryl!" I yelled at him

"Go!" He told us and Rick grabbed my arm pulling me away

"No, Rick let me go!" I demanded but he didn't and Maggie reached her hand down pulling me over. We run along a broken down train and see the guards shining lights trying to spot us, "Come on Daryl" I silently begged and we here rustling behind us, I turned and saw a woman I had never met crawl out from under the train and Rick pointed his gun at her

"Where the hell were you?" He asked her and she slowly made her way out, "Put your hands up." He told her and she slowly raised them, "Turn around, turn around." He takes her sword out of its sheath and she leans against the train, "Get what you came for?"

"Where are the rest of your people?" She asked

"They got Oscar." Glenn told her

"Daryl is missing. You didn't see him?" I asked her and she didn't say anything, "If anything happens to him-" I started to say moving closer to her but Rick pulled me back

"I brought you here to save them." The woman told Rick

"Thanks for the help."

"You'll need help to get them back to the prison or to go back in there for Daryl. Either way, you need me." She pointed out and Rick looked at me

"No I'm going with you." I tell him

"I need you to keep an eye on her and get Glenn to the car."

"But.." I began to say

"I'll bring him back, I promise"

I looked at him then Glenn, "Okay, okay" I tell him and I put my around around Glenn's waist and the 3 of us headed to the car and waited.

* * *

"Glenn!" Rick yells at him and I see them heading over to us and I ran to Daryl

"Thank god" I tell him and he hugged me

"Rick. Rick. Rick. Oh, thank God."

"Now we got a problem here. I need you to back up." Rick says to him

"What the hell is he doing here?!" Glenn yelled as him and Michonne moved to Merle, Michonne drew her sword but Rick stepped in front of her

"Hey, hey, hey! Hey, put it down!" Daryl yells at her stepping away from me in front of Merle

"He tried to kill me!"

"If it wasn't for him-" Glenn started to tell Daryl

"He helped us get out of there."

"Yeah, right after he beat the shit out of you." Rick tells Daryl

"Hey, we both took our licks, man." Merle says

"Jackass." Daryl grumbled over his shoulder at him

"Hey, shut up."

"Enough! Hey, hey, relax! Put that down now!" Rick tells Michonne

"Get that thing out of my face!" Daryl warned Glenn

"Man, look like you've gone native, brother." Merle says to him

"No more than you hanging out with that psycho back there."

"Oh, yeah, man. He is a charmer, I got to tell you that. Been putting the wood to your girlfriend Andrea. Big time, baby." Merle says and I looked at at him in shock

"That's the little birdie?" I asked him and he nodded

"What? Andrea's in Woodbury?" Glenn asked

"Right next to the Governor." Daryl answered and Michonne moved forward with her sword again

"I told you to drop that!" Rick tells Michonne, "You know Andrea?" He asked her and she didn't say anything, "Hey, do you know Andrea?"

"Yep, she does. Her and blondie spent all winter cuddling up in the forest. Mm-mmm-mmm. Yeah. My Nubian queen here had two pet walkers. No arms, cut off the jaws, kept them in chains. Kind of ironic now that I think about it." Merle tells us and I look at him

"Shut up Merle" Daryl told him

"Hey, we snagged them out of the woods. Andrea was close to dying." He says

"Is that why she's with him?" Maggie asked him

"Yeah. Snug as two little bugs. So what you gonna do now, Sheriff, huh? Surrounded by a bunch of liars, thugs, and cowards."

"Shut up!" Rick yelled at him

"Oh, man, look at this. Pathetic. All these guns and no bullets in them."

"Merle, shut up!" Daryl yelled at him

"Shut up yourself! Bunch of pussies you roll-" Merle started to say but Rick clipped him in the back of the head knocking him out

"Asshole." Rick says and I looked at Daryl

* * *

"It won't work." Rick tells Daryl

"It's gotta." Daryl argued

"It'll stir things up."

"Look, the Governor is probably on the way to the prison right now. Merle knows how he thinks and we could use the muscle." Daryl tell him

"I'm not having him at the prison." Maggie says

"Do you really want him sleeping in the same cell block as Carol or Beth?" Glenn asked

"He's not a rapist." Daryl told him

"Well, his buddy is." Glenn says and Daryl looked at me but shook my head

"They ain't buddies no more. Not after last night." Daryl mentioned

"There's no way Merle's gonna live there without putting everyone at each other's throats." Rick tells him

"So you're gonna cut Merle loose and bring the last samurai home with us?"

"She's not coming back." Rick said

"She's not in a state to be on her own." Maggie tells him

"She did bring you guys to us." Glenn adds

"And then ditched us."

"At least let my dad stitch her up." Maggie tells him

"She's too unpredictable."

"That's right. We don't know who she is. But Merle, Merle's blood." Daryl pointed out

"No, Merle is your blood. My blood, my family is standing right here and waiting for us back at the prison." Glenn tells us

"And you're part of that family. But he's not. He's not." Rick says

"Man, y'all don't know. Fine. We'll fend for ourselves." Daryl tells them and looked at me

"That's not what I was saying." Glenn tells him

"No him, no me."

"Daryl, you don't have to do that." Maggie tells us

"It was always Merle and I before this." Daryl said

"Don't." I begged him

"You serious? You're just gonna leave like that?" Glenn asked

"You'd do the same thing." He told him

"What do you want us to tell Carol?" Rick asked him and I looked at him

"My mom's alive?" I asked him and he nodded, I smiled and felt relief as Maggie put her hand on my shoulder

"She'll understand." Daryl answered and looked at Rick, "Say good-bye to your pop for me." Daryl tells Maggie and started to walk away

"Daryl, are you serious?" Glenn asked him and I walked with Rick following him

"Daryl!" Rick yelled, "Hey. Hey. There's got to be another way."

"Don't ask me to leave him. I already did that once." I tell Rick

"We started something last night. You realize that, huh?"

"No him, no me" Daryl repeated and I looked at him, "That's all I can say. Take care of yourself. Take care of lil ass-kicker. Carl. He's one tough kid."

"Daryl..." I said and he pulled me into a kiss as I wrapped my arms around him, "Please don't, you promised you wouldn't leave me" I tell him and he moved his mouth to my ear

"I'm not, I'm gonna come back I promise." He tells me and I feel him put something in my hand, "For when I get back. I love you" He says then went over to his brother and they took off, I opened my hand and saw a ring in it and looked up in shock.

* * *

I sat in the back of the car with my head leaning against the window playing with the ring Daryl gave me, why did he give me this then just leave? I was taken out of my thoughts when we pull up to the prison and I see my mom open the gate then Carl opened the other. Me and Rick got out and I ran to my mom.

"I thought I lost you" I told her through tears as she hugged me

"I could say the same thing" She replied

"Drive 'em up. I'll meet you there." Rick told Maggie and I saw my mom trying to look in the car as it drove up

"Where's Hershel?" Rick asked Carl

"He's in the cell block."

"Where's Daryl?" My mom asked me

"It's all right. He's alive. We..um ran into his brother. They went off."

"He left? Daryl left? He's gone? Is he coming back?" She asked

"Hey." I tell her pulling her into a hug

"Gone? He just left you?" She asked pulling away

"It's ok." I reassured her and we all headed up to the prison

"And Oscar?" Carl asked and Rick shook his head

"No."

* * *

We walked into the prison heading into our cell block when I saw 4 people who I didn't know sitting at one of the tables, I looked at my mom confused and she nodded her head as we walked inside. I headed up the stairs to mine and Daryl's cell, I finally managed to convince him to stay in one with me. My mom walked up to me and put her hand on my shoulder, "Why did he leave?" She asked me and I walked over to our bed and sat down

"Because of Merle, he wouldn't have been able to stay here without Glenn wanting to kill him or issues arising."

She sat down next to me, "You didn't go with?"

"Glenn said you were alive, I had to come back, for you" I tell her and she pulled me into a side hug, "He'll be back though, he told me he would right before he gave me this" I showed her the ring

"Finally did it" She pointed out and I looked at her

"You knew?"

"Well yeah, he told me he wanted to ask you and of course I gave him permission. I just didn't know when he was gonna do it." She tells me and tears fall out of my eyes, "Hey it's ok" She says holding my hand

"Why would he give this to me and leave? I mean he said he was gonna come back but...it's kind of a crappy way to go about it"

"I don't know sweetie, when he gets back, ask him" She says and I nodded my head then wiped the tears away

* * *

My mom was cleaning out an old box for mail when Beth walked up the stairs holding Judith and I walked over with blankets then indicated for her to hand me the baby which she did and I smiled at her.

"You've got a knack for that." My mom told Beth

"Just trying to do my part."

"Sophia used to wake the neighbors. 3:00 AM. Like clockwork. Ed stayed at a friend's most nights till she calmed down." She says

"I remember those nights. Most of the time I would tell my mom to go back to sleep and I would sit there and calm her down" I said to Beth and she smiled

"Sophia loved it when you sang to her" My mom adds and I smile at her then look at Judith

"You sing?" Beth asked me

"Not for a while, the last time I sang was..." I stopped and looked at my mom, "Was when the world turned to crap and I sat with Sophia in our tent and sang her to sleep." I said fighting back tears and my mom rubbed my shoulder

"I always wanted a child." Beth says

"You better wait on that one" I tell her nudging her shoulder and she smiled

"She wouldn't have made it if Daryl hadn't been here. He couldn't stand to lose anyone else." Beth mentioned to my mom

"Sounds like him."

"I don't see why he had to leave. Merle sounds like a jerk." Beth says

"Men like Merle get into your head. Make you feel like you deserve the abuse." My mom told her

"Even for Daryl?"

"I'm hardly the woman I was a year ago, but if Ed walked through that door right now breathing and told me to go with him, I'd like to think I'd tell him to go to hell." My mom says and I nodded

"You would, and then I'd shoot him" I tell her and she looked at me, "Sorry"

"It doesn't matter."

"We're weak without him." Beth pointed out as my mom grabbed the blankets I brought out and put them in the bottom of the box

"We'll get through this, too. Tyreese and his friends seem capable."

"I'm pissed at him for leaving." Beth says

"Don't be. Daryl has his code. This world needs men like that." I tell her and walked over to the box as Judith started to fuss, "Oh it's ok, you're ok" I comforted and put her in the box, "There." I said and she calmed down

"She fits perfect." Beth pointed out

"Yeah. Wait. You cozy in there?" I asked her and she grabbed my finger putting it in her mouth, I smiled at her and my mom put her hand on my shoulder

"Maybe someday" She says and I nodded then carefully lifted the box

* * *

Later that night I sat on the steps next to Beth as she held Judith, I saw my mom walk over to Axel and put her hand on his arm, "Whenever Tomas went off, Oscar always stood up for me, you know? He was my friend."

"He went out fighting." Rick reassured him as Beth and I walked over to them

"So what now? You think the Governor will retaliate?" Beth asked

"Yes." Maggie answered

"Let him try." Glenn added

"Sounds like he's got a whole town. We're outnumbered and outgunned." My mom pointed out

"We could use some reinforcements." Hershel says to Rick and we walk out of the cell block to the lunch area where Tyreese and the others were

"I'm Tyreese." He says to Rick holding out his hand but Rick just looked at him

"Sasha, Allen, Ben." Hershel introduced the others

"How'd you get in?" Rick asked Tyreese

"Fire damage to the administrative part of the prison. Wall's down."

"That side's completely overrun with walkers. How'd you get this far?" Rick asked

"We didn't. We lost our friend Donna."

"They were lost in the tombs." Carl tells Rick

"You brought them here?"

"He had no choice." Hershel says to him

"I'm sorry about your friend. We know what that's like." Rick tells Tyreese

"Hershel said you could use some extra hands. We're no stranger to hard work. We'll go out and get our own food, stay out of your hair. You got a problem with another group, we'll help with that, too. Anything to contribute."

"No." Rick tells him after a pause

"Please. It's like "10 Little Indians" out there. It's just us now." Sasha begged him

"No."

"Let's talk about this. We can't just keep-" Hershel started to say but Rick cut him off

"We've been through this. With Tomas, Andrew. Look what happened."

"Axel and Oscar weren't like them." I told Rick

"And where's Oscar now? I can't be responsible."

"You turn us out, you are responsible." Tyreese tells him

"Rick." Hershel says and Rick walked over to him

"You've done so much for us. I appreciate that. We all do. We owe you our lives. We've done everything you asked without question. And I'm telling you, you're wrong on this. You've got to start giving people a chance."

Rick looked at him then all of us and sighed patting Hershel on the shoulder then I see him look up at the catwalk, "No, no. No, no, no, no. No. No, no, no, no, no. Why are you here? What do you want from me?" He asked to nobody

"Dad?" Carl asked and I put my hand on his shoulder

"Why are you- no. I can't help you. Get out!" Rick yelled walking over to Tyreese and them

"Whoa, whoa, whoa."

"Get- get out!" Rick yelled again and I pulled Carl behind me

"Hey, come on. Whoa, it's all good." Tyreese says to him

"What are you doing?" Sasha asked

"Hey, easy, Rick. There's no need to-" Maggie started to say

"You don't belong here! Get out!" Rick yelled turning to her then grabbed his gun I stood in front of Carl and Maggie while Axel pulled my mom back, I put my hand on my gun just to be safe, I'd never shoot him but I would if I needed to, not kill him but slow him down, "Please!"

"Relax, brother. Relax." Tyreese says to him

"Get out! Get out!"

"We'll leave. We're going. Okay? Ain't nobody got to get shot here. We're going." Tyreese says to him and they grab their stuff

"What are you doing here?!"

"Okay, we're going."

"Just go! Go! Go!" Glenn tells them and they run

"Rick...put it down" I tell him and he looked at me as I kept my hand on my gun then he looked back up at the catwalk, after a moment he put his gun back in his holster and I took my hand off of mine, "Why don't you go get some rest? Okay? It's been a long day" I tell him and he looked at the floor then headed into the cell block. I sighed and my mom put her hand on my shoulder.


	9. Chapter 9

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

"Now you said you found Tyreese's group here?" Glenn asked Carl as they knelt down looking at the chalk drawing on the ground

"Yeah."

"We secured this." Glenn tells him

"He thought he came through here." Carl indicated to the drawing

"Means there's another breach. Okay. The whole front of the prison is unsecure. If walkers just strolled in, then it's gonna be cake for a group of armed men."

"Why are we even so sure he's going to attack? Maybe you scared him off." Beth pointed out

"He had fish tanks full of heads. Walkers and humans. Trophies. He's coming." Michonne told us

"We should hit him now." Glenn says

"What?" I asked him

"He won't be expecting it. We'll sneak back in and put a bullet in his head."

"We're not assassins." My mom tells him and Glenn got up then walked over to Michonne

"You know where his apartment is. You and I could end this tonight." Glenn tells her and she stayed quiet, "I'll do it myself." He adds and she sighed then nodded her head

"Okay."

"He didn't know you were coming last time and look what happened. You were almost killed. Daryl was captured. And you, Phoebe and Maggie were almost executed." Hershel says to him

"You can't stop me."

"Rick would never allow this." I told Glenn

"You really think he's in any position to make that choice?"

"Think this through clearly. T-Dog lost his life here. Lori, too. The men that were here. It isn't worth any more killing. What are we waiting for? If he's really on his way, we should be out of here by now." Hershel tells him

"And go where?"

"We lived on the road all winter." Hershel points out

"Back when you had two legs and we didn't have a baby crying for walkers every four hours."

"We can't stay here." Hershel argued

"We can't run." Glenn says and Maggie turned then walked back into the cell block, "All right. We'll stay put. We're gonna defend this place. We're making a stand. Carl, you and I will go down to the tombs. We need to figure out where the breach is." Glenn tells him

"You got it."

"You'll need some help." Michonne says to Glenn

"No, in case anything happens, I need you out here." He told her and looked at all of us "Who's on watch?" He asked then stood up, "Damn it" He says and walked away

* * *

"The tombs outside the boiler room are overrun again." Glenn tells us as him and Carl walked back in and Beth closed the door

"That whole section had been cleared." She tells him

"It's a steady stream of walkers." Carl says

"We're wasting time. The Governor is supposedly on the way and we're stuck in here with walkers." Hershel mentioned

"Trapped between a rock and a hard place." My mom added

"For the last time, running is not an option." Glenn tells us

"Glenn, if the tombs have filled up again, it may just be a matter of time before they push in here." My mom told him

"Or until some fence gives way." Beth adds

"Or if one of them herds is passing through? Or settled?" Axel asked

"Can't handle that with just the few of us." I told Glenn

"Okay. All right, we need- we just need to scout the far side of the prison. Find out what's going on."

"You're going out there?" Hershel asked him

"Take a car and make it quick."

"I'll drive." Axel says to him

"No, you stay here. Help with the fortifications. I'll take Maggie."

"You sure she's up to that?" I asked him and he sighed then walked into the cell block

* * *

I was sat on the small bleachers out in the court yard next to Beth and Carl when I saw Axel walk up to my mom and tap her on the opposite shoulder and she looked at him, I chuckled and continued loading my clip when suddenly a gun shot goes off and I see Axel fall to the ground then Carl and Beth made their way over to me, "Mom!" I yelled ducking behind the bleachers and I see her turn Axel's body to shield her, "Carl get Beth to the wall now!" I tell him and they ran to the side of the building as I covered them then moved over to some file cabinets that were in the yard

"Beth!" I hear Maggie yell and she ran outside with 2 guns and handed one to her then made her way over to me and I covered her when the guy in the tower continued shooting

"Mom go!" I yelled to her and both me and Maggie shot at him so my mom could get to cover and she ran over to Carl and Beth, "Maggie" I tell her and we switched guns then I aimed it at the tower and shot the guy killing him. Just then we hear a truck approach and we look up to see it smash through our gate then just sit there. The ramp of it drops down and walkers come out and I noticed Hershel was in the field, "Where's Glenn?" I asked Maggie and she shook her head. We all went to the gate and opened it then started killing the walkers as Glenn pulled in with the truck and headed to the field to get Hershel. I see Rick get pinned at the fence by two walkers then suddenly I see Daryl and Merle come out of the woods and Daryl shoots a walker while Merle runs to Rick getting the other one, I smiled then shot another walker. and we headed back into the courtyard as Glenn pulled in.

"Are you okay?" I asked my mom hugging her and she nodded her head then we walked over to the fence and looked out at the field that was now filled with walkers

* * *

"Daryl" I said running over to him as they came through the gate and jumped into his arms, he hugged me back and I sniffled

"Told ya I'd come back" He says and I smiled then kissed him, "Are you okay?" He asked me

"I'm better now" I tell him and we all head inside

* * *

"We're not leaving." Rick says as we all gathered in our cell block

"We can't stay here." Hershel tells him

"What if there's another sniper? A wood pallet won't stop one of those rounds." Maggie adds

"We can't even go outside." Beth pointed out

"Not in the daylight." Carol says

"Rick says we're not running, we're not running." Glenn said to us

"No, better to live like rats." Merle said from the other room on the other side of the gate that Rick locked him in

"You got a better idea?" Rick asked him

"Yeah, we should have slid out of here last night and lived to fight another day. But we lost that window, didn't we? I'm sure he's got scouts on every road out of this place by now."

"We ain't scared of that prick." Daryl tells him from next to me leaning on the railing

"Y'all should be. That truck through the fence thing, that's just him ringing the doorbell. We might have some thick walls to hide behind, but he's got the guns and the numbers. And if he takes the high ground around this place, shoot, he could just starve us out if he wanted to."

"Let's put him in the other cell block." Maggie says twisting her bandana on her wrist

"No. He's got a point." Daryl defended

"This is all you. You started this." Maggie tells him

"What difference whose fault it is? What do we do?" Beth asked

"I said we should leave. Now Axel's dead. We can't just sit here." Hershel tells us and Rick started to walk away, "Get back here!" Hershel yelled standing up making me jump a little, "You're slipping, Rick. We've all seen it. We understand why. But now is not the time. You once said this isn't a democracy. Now you have to own up to that. I put my family's life in your hands. So get your head clear and do something."

* * *

"Hey" Daryl says from outside our cell as I sat on the bed putting my clip in my gun

"Hi" I replied and he walked in, took the gun out of my hand and knelt in front of me holding my hands and he rang his thumb over the ring

"You're wearing it"

"Why did you give it to me then leave?" I asked him

"So that way you knew I would come back, I told you I ain't ever leaving you. I only went with Merle so I could lead him back here."

"So?" I asked and he let go of my right hand and put both of his on my left one

"I never thought I would be the kind of person to do this, givin' how I was raised, but Pheebs you, you opened something up in me, something I never knew I had and you make me a better person. I love you and I would anything to keep you safe. Life is to short and I want to spend every single one of my days with you by my side. Will you marry me?" He asked and I smiled at him as he wiped a tear off my cheek

"Of course" I tell him and he kissed me

"We don't have to make a big deal out of it or anything"

"Well we could do it in private but my mom needs to be there" I tell him and he nodded then grabbed my hand helping me stand up

"Come on, let's do it now"

I giggled at him, "Why the rush?"

"Like I said, life is to short to waste it on waiting" He says and we walk out of the cell and found Hershel then my mom. I looked over at the room Merle was in and grabbed Daryl's keys heading over to it then unlocked it

"Come on" I tell him and he looked at me confused but followed me as we walked back to the others and we all headed to a private spot in the prison because Rick didn't want us going outside. We kept it short and sweet, I could tell Merle was uncomfortable but I knew it meant a lot to Daryl for him to be there. After we finished and Daryl kissed me, Hershel, my mom and Merle headed inside, "You know I do believe you promised me a date in the guard tower, but since we can't go outside" I tell him wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Well then Mrs. Dixon, I am a man of my promises" He says and we walked to a part of the prison no one was at which happened to be an office. Normally it wouldn't be ideal for this but since we haven't had a moment to ourselves alone we would take what we got. Before I could do anything after shutting the door Daryl kissed me and laid me down on the couch that was in there.

He removed my shirt throwing it onto the floor, I unbuttoned his shirt taking it off of him and he kissed me sliding his tongue into my mouth, I moaned fisting my hands into his hair and he worked on taking off my pants moving his mouth from mine down my jaw to my neck kissing and biting at it then moved down to my breasts kissing the tops of them while squeezing them

"Oh Daryl" I moaned and he moved down to my stomach running his hands up my sides then moved further down, "What are you..." I started to ask but threw my head back when I felt his mouth and tongue run along my thighs before he started attacking my center with his mouth, "Oh god Daryl!" I moaned putting my fingers in his hair again biting my lip, I bucked my hips against him when I felt him insert two fingers and started pumping them while still licking and sucking my center, "Oh God!" I moaned as I orgasmed, I started panting as he kissed his way back up before wiping his mouth.

I moved my hands down and unbuckled his belt undoing his pants then slid them down and he positioned himself between my legs propping one of them on his arm and pushed into me then started moving his hips going slow at first but then picked up the pace, I squeezed my eyes shut and bit my lip as he started kissing my neck. Next thing I knew he pulled out of me and turned me around so I was on my stomach and he lifted my hips and he entered me again, I couldn't believe how turned on I was right now

"Oh Phoebe" He moaned picking up the pace and I gripped my hands into the couch cushion

"Oh god! Oh...OHH!" I moaned as I hit my peak again and after a few more thrusts and grunts Daryl finished as well. I laid down and he laid down next to me, we were both panting pretty hard trying to catch our breath, "You are gonna be the death of me Mr. Dixon" I tell him and he chuckled then kissed me.

"Can't help it, you're just so amazing" He says and I kissed him, "We should head back" He tells me and I sighed

"Do we have to? I like just laying with you not having to worry about anything"

"I do too, but we need to make sure we're all safe from this guy before we can relax" He says and I pouted

"Okay" I tell him and reluctantly get up and we gathered our clothes getting dressed then headed back to our cell block

* * *

"Take watch. Eyes open, head down." Rick tells Maggie handing her the keys, "Field's filled with walkers." He adds placing a gun in the cell Glenn was in and Daryl walked down the steps, "I didn't see any snipers out there, but we'll keep Maggie on watch." He finished walking over to me, Hershel, Daryl and Michonne

"I'll get up in the guard tower, take out half them walkers, give these guys a chance to fix the fence." Daryl tells him

"Or use some of the cars to put the bus in place." Michonne suggested

"We can't access the field without burning through our bullets." Hershel adds and Glenn walked over

"So we're trapped in here. There's barely any food or ammo." He says

"Been here before. We'll be all right." Daryl tells him

"That's when it was just us. Before there was a snake in the nest."

"Man, we gonna go through this again? Look, Merle's staying here. He's with us now. Get used to it." He tells Glenn and I put my hand on his arm

"Hey"

"All y'all!" Daryl says and walked away up the stairs

"Seriously, Rick, I don't think Merle living here is really gonna fly." Glenn tells him

"I can't kick him out."

"I wouldn't ask you to live with Shane after he tried to kill you." Glenn says

"Merle has military experience. He may be erratic, but don't underestimate his loyalty to his brother." Hershel told Glenn

"What if we solve both problems at once? Deliver Merle to the Governor. Bargaining chip. Give him his traitor, maybe declare a truce."

"You do that and Daryl will leave and I would too. Look Glenn I know this makes you angry but Merle is Daryl's brother, his family, my family now too as well as you guys. Just gonna have to learn to get along sooner or later" I told him and walked up the steps to mine and Daryl's cell to see him on the bed fiddling with an arrow, "Hey you"

"Hi"

"I'm sorry" I tell him sitting down next to him

"For what?"

"Glenn and everyone being uncomfortable with Merle here" I tell him

"It's not your fault"

"Still though, Merle beat up Glenn, I don't know what he did to Maggie..." I started to say and Daryl sat up

"Did he hurt you?"

"No, no all we did was talk, the guy that came in after him was not shy on hitting a woman." I tell him and he held my hand

"I'm sorry, should've never let you go on that run"

"Hey," I put my other hand on his face, "I wanted to go, that isn't anyone's fault"

"How are you so brave?"

"I have family worth fighting for, and a husband who keeps me going." I tell him and he pulled me into a kiss

"I love you"

"I love you too" I said and kissed him again, "I'm gonna go watch Judith for Beth, give her a little break." I tell him and start to stand up

"You think about having kids?" He asked and I looked at him shocked

"Mister random," I smiled and he smirked at me, "Maybe someday, when things calm down. I would definitely like to have a baby with you." I tell him and he pulled me on top of him into a kiss and I giggled, "That doesn't mean we should start right now"

"Well later maybe we can practice" He says brushing his lips against mine

"Mmm don't tempt me" I said kissing him again then got up and headed to the lunch area to take Judith from Beth

* * *

After I laid Judith down I headed into the lunch area to see Rick and the others walk in, with Andrea, she walked down the steps and hugged my mom, "After you saved me, we thought you were dead." My mom told her and she looked at me

"Phoebe" Andrea says and went to hug me but I moved away and stood next to Daryl, she looked at me confused then Hershel walked over, "Hershel, my God. I can't believe this. Where's Shane?" She asked and I shifted then looked at Rick, "And Lori?"

"She had a girl. Lori didn't survive." Hershel told her and Daryl put his hand on my back

"Neither did T-Dog." Maggie added

"I'm so sorry. Carl." She says but he moved away, "Rick, I- You all live here?" She asked us

"Here and the cell block." Glenn told her

"There? Well, can I go in?" She asked starting to walk over there but Rick stepped in front of her

"I won't allow that."

"I'm not an enemy, Rick." She tells him

"We had that field and courtyard until your boyfriend tore down the fence with a truck and shot us up." I said to her

"He said you fired first."

"Well, he's lying." Rick says

"He killed an inmate who survived in here." Hershel mentioned

"We liked him. He was one of us." Daryl added

"I didn't know anything about that. As soon as I found out, I came. I didn't even know you were in Woodbury until after the shoot-out." She tells us

"That was days ago." I pointed out to her

"I told you, I came as soon as I could. What have you told them?" She asked Michonne

"Nothing."

"I don't get it. I left Atlanta with you people and now I'm the odd man out?"

"He almost killed Michonne and he would have killed us.." I started to tell her

"With his finger on the trigger." She cut me off pointing at Merle, "Isn't he the one who kidnapped you? Who beat you?" She asked Glenn, "Look, I cannot excuse or explain what Philip has done. But I am here trying to bring us together. We have to work this out."

"There's nothing to work out. We're gonna kill him. I don't know how or when, but we will." Rick told her

"We can settle this. There is room at Woodbury for all of you."

Merle laughed, "You know better than that."

"What makes you think this man wants to negotiate? Did he say that?" Hershel asked her

"No."

"Then why did you come here?" I asked her

"Because he's gearing up for war. The people are terrified. They see you as killers. They're training to attack."

"I'll tell you what. Next time you see Philip, you tell him I'm gonna take his other eye." Daryl told her and I put my hand on his shoulder

"We're taken too much shit for too long. He wants a war? He's got one." Glenn said to her

"Rick. If you don't sit down and try to work this out, I don't know what's gonna happen. He has a whole town. Look at you. You've lost so much already. You can't stand alone anymore."

"You want to make this right, get us inside." Rick tells her

"No."

"Then we got nothing to talk about." Rick says to her and walked away

"There are innocent people."

* * *

We all stand out in the court yard as Glenn drove an old prison car up to Andrea and Rick then got out and walked away, "Thanks. Can you spare it?" She asked Rick

"Yeah."

She looked around at all of us, "Well, take care."

"Andrea." Rick says after she got in the car and handed her gun back to her, "Be careful."

"You, too." She says and drives towards the gate as Merle unlocked it then she went through

* * *

That night we were all gathered in the cell block, Beth and Glenn were sitting on the floor, Maggie was sitting on the bottom of the stairs and I was sitting a few up from her while everyone else stood around, Rick came down the stairs with Judith who was getting fussy, I reached my arms out for her and he handed her to me and I rocked her trying to calm her down, I looked at my mom then back down at Judith and sighed

'They hung a sign up in our town, If you live it up, you won't live it down.' I started to sing and everyone looked at me and my mom smiled, I always sang this song to Sophia, 'So she left Monte Rio, son, Just like a bullet leaves a gun, With charcoal eyes and Monroe hips, She went and took the California trip, Well, the moon was gold and her hair like wind, Said don't look back now, Just come on, Jim, You got to hold on, Hold on, You got to hold on, Take my hand, I'm standing right here, You got to hold on, Well, he gave her a dime-store watch, And a ring made from a spoon, Everyone's looking for someone to blame, If you share my bed, you share my name' I see Daryl smile out the corner of my eye, 'When there's nothing left to keep you here, When you're falling behind in this big blue world, You got to hold on, Hold on, Got to hold on, Take my hand, I'm standing right here, Got to hold on...Down by the Riverside Motel, It's 10 below and falling, By a 99-cent store, She closed her eyes and started swaying, But it's so hard to dance that way, When it's cold and there's no music, Well, your old hometown is so far away, But inside your head there's a record, That's playing a song called, Hold on, hold on, Baby, you got to hold on, Take my hand, I'm standing right there, You got to hold on, You got to hold on, hold on, Baby, got to hold on, Take my hand, I'm standing right there, You got to hold on, You got to hold on, hold on, Baby, you got to hold on, And take my hand, I'm standing right here, You got to hold on, You got to hold on, You got to hold on, baby, You got to hold on, girl, You got to hold on, You got to hold on.'


	10. Chapter 10

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

"Sure you wanna go?" Daryl asked me as I got my gun and knife ready

"I'm sure, can't let you have all the fun" I smirked and he put his hands on my hips pulling me to him

"If anything goes wrong, stay by me"

"Always" I tell him and he kissed me then we finished getting ready and headed out

* * *

I rode on the back of Daryl's bike as we pulled up to an old feed mill and I got off then Daryl, I pulled out my gun as Rick got out of the car and they started to look around the place while I stayed with Hershel by the car.

"Think this will work?" I asked Hershel

"Worth a shot"

"He's already in there. Sat down with Rick." Daryl told us walking back over

"I don't see any cars." Hershel pointed out

"It don't feel right. Keep it running." Daryl told him and we hear a truck approach, "Heads up." He tells Hershel as the both of us raise our weapons and I see Andrea get out along with two other people, "What the hell? Why's your boy already in there?" Daryl asked her

"He's here?"

"Yup." I answered and she headed inside

We lowered our weapons and Hershel got out of the car as Daryl paced and I saw the one guy looking at me, "You gonna stop staring cause I'm not gonna do any tricks" I tell him and he chuckled then Daryl walked over and stood behind me, the guy scoffed then looked away

"Maybe I should go inside" Hershel suggested

"The Governor thought it best if he and Rick spoke privately." The guy with the glasses says

"Who the hell are you?" Daryl asked him

"Milton Mamet."

"Great. He brought his butler." Daryl said and I snorted

"I'm his advisor."

"What kind of advice?" Daryl asked

"Planning. Biters. Uh, you know, I'm sorry. I don't feel like I need to explain myself to the henchmen."

"You better watch your mouth, sunshine."

"Daryl" I told him and he looked at me, I shook my head

"Look, if you, me and her are gonna be out here pointing guns at each other all day, do me a favor, shut your mouth." The other guy told Daryl who walked over to him

"We don't need this. If all goes south in there, we'll be at each other's throats soon enough." Hershel pointed out and Daryl walked back over to me, few minutes later Andrea came outside, looked at us then went and sat down.

* * *

Daryl kept pacing as I leaned against the car and he exhaled, "Hey," I grabbed his hand, "You okay?" I asked him and he nodded then continued to pace

"There's no reason not to use this time we have together to explore the issues ourselves." Milton told all of us

"Boss said to sit tight and shut up." Martinez said to him

"Don't you mean the Governor?" I asked him

"It's a good thing they're sitting down, especially after what happened. They're gonna work it out. Nobody wants another battle." Milton says

"I wouldn't exactly call it a battle." Daryl told him

"I would call it a battle and I did. I recorded it."

"For what?" Daryl asked him

"Somebody's got to keep a record of what we've gone through. It'll be a part of our history."

"That makes sense." Hershel pointed out

"I've got dozens of interviews-" Milton started to say but got cut of when we hear growling, me and Daryl moved forward then Martinez and Andrea followed and we see two walkers standing there

"After you." Daryl gestured to Martinez

"No way. You first." He says, me and Andrea looked at each other and she sighed then we both moved forward stabbing each walker, "Pussy" Martinez says to Daryl and walked over hitting another one with his bat then Daryl moved forward and got one with his crossbow then Martinez hit another one.

I sighed and looked at Andrea then walked away and she followed, "Phoebe" She called and I stopped, "Look I know you're probably still upset with me after what happened at the farm.."

"I'm not still mad about that."

She looked at me confused, "Then what.."

"It's because you can't seem to realize who this guy is. I know you think Michonne is telling lies but she's not, everything she's told us about him reminded me of someone, my father, now he may not be hitting you but he is manipulating you with whatever charm he has on you. I care about you and...I don't you get hurt when he uses you as a pawn in his game because it will happen and when it does." I stopped and sighed, "Just...try to see what we see and not the lies" I tell her and she grabbed my hand and was about to say something when she noticed my ring

"Congratulations" She tells me with a smile which I returned and Daryl walked back over followed by Martinez

About 20 minutes later the door opened and the Governor walked out followed by Rick and walked over to the truck, Rick walked over to the car and I looked at Andrea giving her a small nod then got on the back of Daryl's bike and he handed me his crossbow to hold then we drove off heading back to the prison

* * *

"So, I met this Governor. Sat with him for quite a while." Rick told the others

"Just the two of you?" Merle asked him

"Yeah."

"Should have gone when we had the chance, bro." I hear Merle mumble to Glenn as he walked past them

"He wants the prison. He wants us gone. Dead. He wants us dead for what we did to Woodbury. We're going to war." Rick tells us and I looked around at the others as Rick walked away then I headed up the stairs to mine and Daryl's cell, he followed shortly after and pulled me into a hug.

"It'll be ok" he tells me and I looked at him then he kissed me, "I ain't letting anything happen to you"

"Ditto" I told him and he hugged me again. I'll die for this man, and for anyone else here, including Merle. I just hope it doesn't come to that.

* * *

"It's the only way. No one else knows." Rick tells me, Hershel and Daryl about his plan

"You gonna tell 'em?" Daryl asked him

"Not till after. We have to do it today. It has to be quiet."

"You got a plan?" I ask him

"We tell her we need to talk. Away from the others."

"Just ain't us, man." Daryl says

"No. No, it isn't." Hershel agreed and walked away

"We do this, we avoid a fight. No one else dies."

Daryl looked at me and I shrugged my shoulders while shaking my head, "Okay." Daryl agreed

"We need someone else." Rick says to Daryl, I automatically knew who he meant

"I'll talk to him."

"I'll do it." Rick says

"I'll go with you."

"No. Just me." Rick tells him and walked away

"It's not right. I mean if he does this, who knows what will happen, the Governor could still come here anyways and kill us." I tell Daryl and he pulled me into a hug.

"I know, but we have to at least try"

"I just don't get why we are such a threat to him, I mean the only reason we attacked was when you guys came for me, Glenn and Maggie. Then he attacked us, if we just let our groups live our lives away from each other then there's nothing to worry about." I point out

"I wish it was that simple" Daryl told me and we headed inside

* * *

We drive back up to the yard as Rick opened the gate for us and we got out, "They try to drive up to the gate again, maybe some blown tires will stop them." Glenn told Rick

"That's a good idea."

"It was Michonne's." I said to him giving him a look as Maggie and Carl walked back up to us

"We don't have to win. We just have to make their getting at us more trouble than it's worth." Michonne adds and I give her a small smile, she really has proved herself to be a part of our group, now we were gonna hand her off to a psychopath who wants to kill us

"Let's go" Rick says and we head back into the prison

* * *

I sat on my bed after getting changed and put my boots on when there was a knock on the wall outside my cell, I looked up and saw Merle standing there, "Can I help you?" I asked him looking back at my boot and zipped it.

"Is that anyway to treat your brother-in-law?" He asked walking in and I stood up putting on my coat keeping silent, "Look I don't ever do this so this is a one time thing." He says and I look at him, "I'm glad you're in Daryl's life, after all he's been through it's nice he has someone who cares about him, other then me of course. You're good for him and you make him happy. I meant what I said at Woodbury, I don't hurt family and that's what you are now. I wasn't the best brother to him when we were younger but I'm here for him now, and I'm here for you too"

I was a little taken back by what he just said and I gave him a small smile, "Thank you Merle"

"You tell anyone I said that.."

"Said what?" I asked with a pretend confused look then smiled at him

"Smart-ass" He grumbled and walked away, I wish I could have recorded that

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

"Merle. You down here?" I called to him walking through the basement corridors and I hear clattering coming from a room so I raised my crossbow, "Merle."

"Hey, little brother." He says and I lower it looking around

"What the hell?"

"I was just about to holler back at ya." He tells me leaning on work table

"What you doing down here?"

"Just looking for a little crystal meth." He tells me and I look at him shaking my head, "Yeah, yeah, I know. shit will mess my life up when everything is going so sweet, right?"

"You talk to Rick yet?" I asked him

"Yeah. Oh, yeah. I'm in. But, uh, he ain't got the stomach for it. He's gonna buckle. You know that, right?"

"Yeah. If he does, he does." I pointed out

"You want him to?" He asked me

"Whatever he says goes."

"Man. Do you even possess a pair of balls, little brother? Are they even attached? I mean, if they are, they belong to you? Or do they belong to the wife? Come on man, you used to call people like that sheep. What happened to you?" He asked me

"What happened with you and Glenn, Phoebe and Maggie?" I asked him

"I've done worse, but I didn't hurt your girl, after she told me you two were together I refrained but uh the Governor man he wanted answers so he sent in another guy." He told me and I sighed, "You need to grow up. Things are different now. Your people look at me like I'm the devil...grabbing up those lovebirds and your girlfriend like that, huh? Now y'all want to do the same damn thing I did- snatch someone up and deliver them to the Governor, just like me. Yeah. People do what they got to do or they die."

"Can't do things without people anymore, man." I point out and he scoffed

"Maybe these people need somebody like me around, huh? Do their dirty work. The bad guy. Yeah, maybe that's how it is now, huh? How does that hit you?"

I looked at him and put my hand on his shoulder, "I just want my brother back."

"Get out of here, man." He says and I walked away

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

"It's off. We'll take our chances." Rick says to Daryl walking over to us

"I'm not saying it was the wrong call, but this is definitely the right one." Daryl tells him and we see him look around

"What's wrong?" I asked him

"I can't find Merle or Michonne. They've gone."

"Come on." Daryl tells him and we head down to the basement level, "He was in here. Said he was looking for drugs. Said a lot of things, actually."

"Like what?" Rick asked him and Daryl was looking around the room

"Said that you were gonna change your mind. Here we go." He mentioned and picked up a cloth, "Yeah, he took her here. They mixed it up."

"Damn it! I'm going after him." Rick said heading to the back door and we followed

"You can't track for shit."

"Then the both of us." Rick says

"No, just me. I said I'd go and I'll go."

"I'm coming with" I told Daryl and he shook his head

"No"

"Daryl..." I started to say but he grabbed my hand

"I need you here, safe. Please?" He asked and I reluctantly nodded my head and he kissed me, "I love you" He tells me and looked at Rick,"They're gonna come back here. You need to be ready. Your family, too." Daryl said to him and walked out the door

"He'll be ok" Rick told me

"It's just him I'm worried about" I responded and walked away

* * *

We sat at a table out in the court yard when I see Maggie and Glenn walk over and I look at Maggie's hand, I smiled at her which she returned then we looked at Rick, "When I met with the Governor, he offered me a deal. He said- he said he would leave us alone if I gave him Michonne. And I was gonna do that... to keep us safe. I changed my mind. But now Merle took Michonne to fulfill the deal and Daryl went to stop him and I don't know if it's too late." He says and my mom put her hand on mine giving it a squeeze and I gave sad smile, "I was wrong not to tell you. And I'm sorry. What I said last year, that first night after the farm... it can't be like that. It can't. What we do, what we're willing to do, who we are, it's not my call. It can't be. I couldn't sacrifice one of us for the greater good because we are the greater good. We're the reason we're still here, not me. This is life and death. How you live... how you die- it isn't up to me. I'm not your Governor. We choose to go. We choose to stay. We stick together. We vote. We can stay and we can fight or we can go." He finished then walked away

* * *

I sat on our bed looking at my ring when I hear feet shuffling towards the cell and I looked up seeing Daryl standing there, "Daryl?" I asked looking at his face and I knew something was wrong, "Baby what is it?" I asked standing up and he dropped his crossbow and walked over to me, I pulled him into a hug and he cried into my shoulder, I have never seen him cry so I knew it meant one thing, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry baby" I comfort him and he tightened his hands on my shirt still crying.

* * *

The next few days we gathered up our stuff to leave, I was in my cell putting everything together, I finished packing up mine and Daryl's stuff then walked outside over to Daryl who was sitting on the ground next to his bike when my mom walked over

"You know, Merle never did nothing like that his whole life." Daryl tells her

"He gave us a chance." She says to him and helped him up, he gathered up his arrows and put them on his bike then walked over to me, "You sure you wanna do this?"

"I need to, for us, and for Merle"

He wrapped his arm around me and kissed me, "Be careful"

"Always am. I love you"

"I love you too" He says and we load stuff up

* * *

We sat at the prison and waited, I was down in the tombs when I hear footsteps, after a moment I threw out a flash bang and people lead by the Governor started screaming and moved to leave.

"Hold your ground! Hold your ground!" The Governor shouted but they all ran out, I made my way out of the tombs and headed to the catwalk with Maggie who was in riot gear and we started shooting at everyone as they were coming out, then I see the Governor and I fired at him but kept missing and he fired back at me so I ducked.

Just then they all head to their vehicles and drive off, "We did it?" Maggie hollered to Glenn as he takes his helmet off

"We did it. Come on down."

* * *

"We did it. We drove them out." Rick says as we look out of the gate entrance

"We should go after them." Michonne tells him

"We should finish it." Daryl adds

"It is finished. Didn't you see them hightail it out of here?" Maggie asked

"They could regroup. We can't take the chance. He's not gonna stop."

"They're right. We can't keep living like this." I mentioned

"So we take the fight back to Woodbury. We barely made it back last time."

"He don't care." Daryl says

"Yeah. Let's check on the others." Rick tells us and we head inside the prison

* * *

"Rick we're staying, We don't know where the Governor is. If he comes back, we'll hold him off." Glenn tells him as we get ready to go

"Just the four of us? All right." Daryl says and hands me his crossbow then I put it over my shoulder and get on the back of his bike

"I appreciate you staying." Rick tells them and we drive up to the gate and headed out

* * *

We came up to a rode and saw a truck stopped with dead bodies all around with walkers eating them, I take his crossbow off my shoulder handing it to Daryl and he kills one then Michonne kills two with her sword and I killed another one with my knife

Rick walked forward killing one and suddenly there was a bang on the truck window causing Daryl and I to jump and move away, Rick pointed his gun up and Daryl moved back to open the door letting the woman out and we made our way to Woodbury moving towards the wall of the town when a gunshot goes off next to Rick and we take cover shooting back.

"Tyreese! It's me don.."

"Get down!" Rick tells the woman pulling her back down

"Karen! Karen are you okay?!"

She stands up again and pulled away from Rick, "I'm fine!"

"Where's the Governor?" He asked her

"He fired on everyone. He killed them all."

"Why are you with them?" He asks

"They saved me."

"We're coming out!" Rick tells him and Daryl shook his head, "We're coming out." Rick says and we stand up raising our hands walking forward as the gate opened

"What are you doing here?" Tyreese asked Rick

"We were coming to finish this until we saw what the Governor did."

"He ... he killed them?" He asks

"Yeah. Karen told us Andrea hopped the wall going for the prison. She never made it. She might be here."

* * *

"This is where he had Glenn, Phoebe and Maggie." Rick tells Tyreese as we made our way through the warehouse

"The Governor held people here?"

"He did more than hold them." Daryl says and we come up on a door and see blood

"Will you open it?" Michonne asked Rick after drawing her sword and both him and I raised our guns

"One, two..." Rick counted and opened the door, we see Andrea on the ground and Michonne rushed over

"Andrea!"

"I tried to stop them." Andrea tells us and I see a dead walker on the ground

"You're burning up." Michonne says to her and Andrea moved the part of her shirt that was over her shoulder revealing a bit mark

"Judith, Carl, the rest of them..." She started to say but Rick cut her off

"Us. The rest of us."

"Are they alive?" She asked

"Yeah, they're alive."

"It's good you found them." She tells Michonne who's crying, "No one can make it alone now." She says looking at me and Daryl and I feel tears in my eyes

"They never could." Daryl tells her

"I just didn't want anyone to die. I can do it myself."

"No." Michonne tells her

"I have to. While I still can. Please? I know how the safety works." She tells Rick and he slowly hands her a gun

"Well I'm not going anywhere" Michonne tells her

"Thank you, for everything" I tell her and she smiled at me

"I tried" Andrea says

"Yeah. You did" Rick told her and stands up then we walk out of the room and he shuts the door. We stand there for a few more moments then we hear a gunshot, I put my hand over my mouth and cried as Daryl pulled me to him into a hug.

* * *

We headed back to the prison with a bus following us, with people from Woodbury and we entered the gate. I see the others look at us confused as everyone gets off the bus and looked around then Tyreese and Sasha lead them inside.

"You okay?" Daryl asked me and I gave a small smile

"I will be" I tell him and he put his hand on my shoulder

"We will be, we're family"

I nod my head and he hugged me. Today was the day we started to rebuild what we lost, and remember the people we lost.


	11. Chapter 11

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

"Morning, Daryl." I heard Dr. S say I look up to see my husband walking over to me and my mom, she was cooking the deer Daryl got and I was cutting up vegetables

"What's up, Dr. S"

"Morning, Daryl"

"Morning, Daryl."

"Hey, Daryl!" Other people greeted and he looked back then at my mom grabbing a plate

"Smells good."

"Just so you know, I liked you first." She told him and I looked at her

"Mmm I think I was the one that liked him first" I point out and he leaned over kissing me on the cheek

"Stop. You know, You and Rick brought in a lot of them, too." He says to me

"Not recently. Give the stranger sanctuary, keeping people fed, you're gonna have to learn to live with the love husband." I told him and he lightly shoved me

"I need you to see something. Patrick, you want to take over?" Carol asked the young boy

"Yes, ma'am." He walked over and stopped Daryl, "Mr. Dixon, I just wanted to thank you for bringing that deer back yesterday. It was a real treat, sir. And I'd be honored to shake your hand." He said and held his hand out, Daryl looked briefly at me and my mom then sucked the juice off his fingers and shook the boys hand and we walked away

"Excuse me Mr. Dixon can I have your autograph?" I joked and he wrapped his arm around my waist

"I can give you more then that Mrs. Dixon." He said

"I think I had enough last night, and this morning" I point out and we followed my mom

* * *

"About today, I don't know if we're gonna be able to spare a lot of people for the run." My mom tells him, since everything that had happened recently Rick stopped leading us and now there was a small council consisting of Hershel, Michonne, My mom, Glenn, Daryl and me

"That place is good to go. We're gonna move on it."

"Yeah. The thing is, we had a pretty big buildup overnight." She tells him and we look down at the fence, "Dozens more towards tower three. It's getting as bad as last month. They don't spread out anymore."

"With more of us sitting here, we're drawing more of them out. You get enough of those damn fence-clingers, they start to herd up." He says

"Pushing against the fences again. It's manageable, but unless we get ahead of it, it won't be for long." I add and looked at him, "Sorry Pookie" I joked and he nudged me with his shoulder and we walked away

* * *

"Okay, are you gonna say good-bye?" I heard Zach ask Beth as she walked past me and Daryl who were walking supplies to the back of the truck

"Nope."

"It's like a damn romance novel." Daryl says and he put the basket in the bed off the truck

"Oh stop it, it's young love. There's nothin' sweeter" I tell him putting my bag in the back, "Besides, you act like that with me" I point out to him and he put his hands on my hips

"What's your point?" He asked and I wrapped my arms around his neck

"No point, just stating a fact" I said and he kissed me. The past few months we started to build a life for us here. We turned our cell into a home the best way we could, every time we went on runs I'd find stuff to make it comfortable. We also cut the top bunk off our bed and used it to make a sound proof door to our cell using that, wood and some random pillows to give us more privacy because well no one wants to hear that. We also decided that we would try to start a family, so far no luck but never hurts to keep trying and trust me we didn't mind the practice.

* * *

"Well, look who's back." Daryl tells Michonne as he stops his bike with me on the back

"Didn't find him."

"Glad to see you in one piece." I said to her

"I'm thinking of looking over near Macon. It's worth a shot." She mentioned and I look at Rick who didn't seemed to thrilled about the idea

"70 miles of walkers. You might run into a few unneighborly types. Is it?" Daryl asked her then looked at Rick, "I'm gonna go check out the Big Spot. The one I was talking about, just seeing."

"Yeah, I got to go out and check the snares. I don't want to lose whatever we catch to the walkers."

"I'll go." Michonne said and started to walk to the car

"You just got here." Carl says and she looks at him

"And I'll be back."

* * *

"Army came in and put these fences up. Made it a place for the people to go. Last week when we spotted this place, there was a bunch of walkers behind this chain-link keeping people out like a bunch of guard dogs." Daryl mentioned to us as we stood by a fence next to the Big Spot

"So they all just left?" Bob asked him

"Give a listen." I tell Bob and we hear music playing

"You drew 'em out." Michonne says

"Put a boom box out there three days ago." Sasha says to her

"Hooked it up to two car batteries." Glenn adds

"All right, let's make a sweep. Make sure it's safe. Grab what you can. We'll come back tomorrow with more people. Come on." Daryl tells us and we make our way in

* * *

"Just give it a second." Daryl tells us after knocking on a glass window outside the building

"Okay, I think I got it." Zack said from next to him

"Got what?" Michonne asked him

"I've been trying to guess what Daryl did before the turn."

"He's been trying to guess for, like, six weeks." I tell her

"Yeah, I'm pacing myself. One shot a day."

"All right, shoot." Daryl says to him

"Well, the way you are at the prison, you being on the council, you're able to track, you're helping people, but you're still being kind of... surly, and I know Phoebe was a cop and you're nothing like her so big swing here. Homicide cop." Zack says and Michonne laughed and I snorted

"What's so funny?" Daryl asked us

"Nothing. It makes perfect sense." Michonne told him and I shrugged

"Actually, the man's right. Undercover." Daryl says

"Come on, really?" Zack asked him

"Yep. I don't like to talk about it 'cause it was a lot of heavy shit, you know?"

"Dude, come on, really?" Zach asked again and looked at me then back at Daryl, "Okay. I'll just keep guessing, I guess."

"Yeah, you keep doing that." Daryl tells him and a couple walkers bump up against the glass

"We're gonna do this, Detective?" Michonne asked Daryl as he stood up

"Let's do it."

"All right, we go in, stay in formation for the sweep. After that, you all know what you're supposed to look for. Any questions?" Sasha asked us

"Was there ever a time that you weren't the boss of me?" Tyresse asked her

"You had a few years before I was born." She says to him and we head in

* * *

I was standing at a jewelry counter after finding what I was looking for when Daryl walked over to me, "Find something?" He asked and I looked at him

"Not really" I said putting it in my pocket and walked away then we hear a loud crash and run over to it. We see a shelf fell over and Bob was underneath it.

"You all right? You cut or something?" Daryl asked him crouching down to look

"No, man, but my foot is caught."

"All right. He's just caught. Come on, help me up." Daryl tells Zach and Tyreese who joined us

"What happened?" I hear Glenn ask

"Everyone's all right. We're over in wine and beer." I replied helping with the shelf

"I was moving fast, man. I drove right into the drinks." Bob tells us and Tyreese knelt down next to him

"Man, you lucked out. If this thing had come down on you the wrong way..." He started to say but then we heard a noise from above and saw a walker crash through the roof

"Yeah, uh, we should probably go now." Glenn said and I nodded grabbing my stuff

"Bob's still stuck. Get him out of there." Daryl points out going back over to Bob

"We'll get the others." Michonne adds and more walkers start to fall through, we back up, more and more come through and I back up into a shelf as one comes near me and I fire my gun killing it then move forward trying to find Daryl. I rounded a corner seeing him shoot one in the head and beat other other one with his crossbow.

"Hey!" I hear Bob yell from under the shelf, I went to move over to him but two walkers appeared and I moved back, I went to back around the other side of the shelf when I tripped over a dead one and fell then the two others fell on me. I put my hands on them holding them back and started to loose my strength when I see a bolt go into ones head and the other got lifted off of me then stabbed, I grabbed Daryl's hand and thanked him. We made our way back out from the aisle, Daryl shot one in the head and I stabbed another as more made their way over, we climbed on top of a stack of beer cases, we looked up and saw a helicopter look like it was about to fall through. I started stabbing and shooting at walkers then we made our way down the cases as Glenn came over to us shooting more of them.

"Daryl, Phoebe go!" He tells us and we make our way to Bob, Daryl grabs the walker Bob was trying to hold back and stomped on his head as Zack put his back to the shelf lifting it up and I pulled Bob out. Just then I hear Zack scream and I turn to see a walker biting him, I went to move to help him but Daryl pulled me back and we started to move

"Go, go!" Daryl shouted and I looked back at Zack but then the roof collapsed as we rushed out.

* * *

That night I just finished cleaning up and Daryl walked into our cell after talking to Beth, "How did it go?" I asked him

"Alright I guess, like I told Beth, just tired of losing people."

"Same here, but at least we still have each other." I tell him and he moved over to me then kissed me

"Forever" He says and I smiled then got into out bed and he closed our door then joined me and I laid my head on his chest as he wrapped his arm around me playing with my ring, "I should find you a better one" He says and I look at him

"Why?"

"You deserve a nice one" He tells me and I prop up on my elbow and look at him

"Hey, all I deserve is you, you could have asked me to marry you without one and I still would've said yes because I love you. If anything I should have gotten you one"

"Hmm maybe someday" He says and I bit my lip, "What?"

"I have a confession to make. I maybe kind of already found one, today." I tell him and he looked at me confused then I crawled on top of him and reached into the small nightstand I found for our cell grabbing out the ring I found him, "Now I know you aren't very big on the jewelry thing because your tough" I said sarcastically and he scoffed, "But maybe you could put it on a chain or something." I tell him and show the ring to him, he sat up holding me so I wouldn't fall and leaned against the wall then put his hand out. I smiled and grabbed it sliding it on his finger, I had no idea what his finger size was but I got lucky and it fit, "Perfect fit" I tell him

"It is" He says and flipped me over laying on top of me then kissed me deeply and I put my fingers in his now growing hair.

"Are you trying to seduce me Mr. Dixon?"

"Mmhm, gotta show my wife how much I love her" He says and I kiss him and pull away biting his bottom lip

"By all means, proceed then" I tell him and he attacked my mouth while taking off my shirt and continued

* * *

The next day I was starting to head up into the guard tower to join Maggie taking over Glenn's shift when I heard gunshots go off in the prison, I rushed back down and joined up with Rick as we ran to the others

"Walkers in D!" Glenn shouted at us

"What about C?!" Rick asked

"Clear." Sasha answered as her, Daryl and Tyreese came out of C block, "We locked the gates to the tombs. Hershel's on guard."

"It ain't a breach." Daryl tells him as we start to head towards D block

"We followed the plan." Sasha adds

* * *

We run into the cell block, me and Daryl start to head up the stairs, "Daryl!" Rick yelled at him and Daryl tossed him the gun he was holding

"I got it. Are you bit?" I hear Rick asking people as I saw a little boy on the ground crawling away from a walker, I ran over picking him up then shot the walker in the head and handed the boy to Karen. I stabbed another walker in the head then one grabbed me but Glenn quickly got it.

"Are we clear down here?" Rick asked us

"Yeah" I answered and followed Daryl back up the stairs with Rick following shortly after, Glenn was already up there when a walker came out of a cell and grabbed him

"Get down!" Daryl told him and shot the walker in the head through the bars

"Thanks"

Rick moved the blanket aside and we look in, "Oh it's Patrick" Daryl says and I hang my head down. We look at the woman laying in the cell who hadn't turned yet and Rick looks at Daryl, "I got it" Daryl tells him and shots his bolt into her head. Rick and Glenn moved away and I waited for Daryl, "You alright?" He asked and I nodded my head.

I walk over to Rick with Daryl behind me when we hear a growling, I look into a locked cell and saw Charlie move towards the door, or what used to be Charlie. I grabbed my knife and stabbed him in the head

* * *

"No bites. No wounds. I think he just died." Rick points out to us as we look at Charlie's body

"Horribly, too. Pleurisy aspiration." Dr. S mentioned

"Choked to death on his own blood. Caused those trails down his face." Hershel adds

"I've seen them before on a walker outside the fences." Rick points out

"I saw them on Patrick, too." Daryl says

"They're from the internal lung pressure building up- like if you shake a soda can and pop the top. Only imagine your eyes, ears, nose, and throat are the top." Dr. S said

"It's a sickness, from the walkers?" I asked him

"No, these things happened before they were around. Could be pneumococcal. Most likely an aggressive flu strain."

"Someone locked him in just in time." Hershel says

"No, Charlie used to sleepwalk, he locked himself in." I tell him

"Hell, he was just eating barbecue yesterday. How could somebody die in a day just from a cold?" Daryl asked

"I had a sick pig, it died quick. Saw a sick boar in the woods." Rick replied

"Pigs and birds. That's how these things spread in the past. We need to do something about those hogs." Hershel inputs

"Maybe we got lucky. Maybe these two cases are it." Dr. S said

"Haven't seen anybody be lucky in a long time. Bugs like to run through close quarters. Doesn't get any closer than this." I tell them

"All of us in here, we've all been exposed." Hershel tells us and I looked from Daryl to Charlie, _just great_.

* * *

"Patrick was fine yesterday, and he died overnight. Two people died that quick?" My mom asked as we sat around the table in the library for our meeting, "We'll have to separate everyone that's been exposed."

"That's everyone in that cell block. That's all of us. Maybe more." Daryl pointed out

"We know that this sickness can be lethal. We don't know how easily it spreads. Is anyone else showing symptoms that we know of?" Hershel asked

"We can't just wait and see. And there's children. It isn't just the illness. If people die, they become a threat." My mom says and I look at her, she's changed a lot the past few months and to be honest it worried me

"We need a place for them to go. They can't stay in D. We can't risk going in there to clean it up." Hershel mentions

"We can use cell block A." I point out

"Death row? I'm not sure that's much of an upgrade." Glenn said

"It's clean. That's an upgrade. Think that'll work for Dr. S?" Daryl asked Hershel

"I'll help Caleb get it set up."

We hear a woman coughing and we all stand up and head to the door, "You okay?" I hear Tyreese ask and watch as him and Karen walk by

"Mm-hmm."

"You sure? You don't sound so good." My mom tells them walking out the door

"We're just taking her back to my cell so she can rest."

"Tyreese, I don't think that's a good idea." Hershel says to him

"Why? What's going on now?" Karen asked

"We think it's a flu or something. That's how Patrick died." Glenn replied

"Judith is in that cell block. She's vulnerable. Anyone that may be sick or even exposed should stay away." I said to her

"It killed Patrick?"

"She's gonna be okay. Now that we know what Patrick died from we can treat it, right?" Tyreese asked as well

"Don't panic. We're going to figure this out. But we should keep you separated in the meantime. We'll have Caleb take a look at you. I'll see what we have in the way of medications." Hershel says

"David from the Decatur group, he's been coughing, too." Karen tells us

"I'll get him. There's some empty clean cells in the tombs, right?" Glenn asked Sasha as he walked away

"Yeah, we'll meet you there."

"Okay. Come on. Let's get you settled." I tell Karen putting my arm around her shoulder following Glenn.

* * *

"Rick! Daryl!" Maggie yelled at them as the walkers started piling up on the fence, I grabbed a crowbar and started killing them when Rick and Daryl came over

"The noise drew 'em out and now this part's starting to give." I tell them then go back to killing them

"Are you seeing this?" Sasha asked from next to me and I followed her gaze, I saw dead rats on the ground in front of the gate, "Is someone feeding these things?"

"Heads up." Daryl warned as the fence started to bend more

"This part of the fence, now!" Sasha says and we stab more

"Hold on, hold on. Hey, hey, hey." Rick yells and we stand back

"It's gonna give! It's gonna give!" Glenn says and we start pushing on the fence holding it although I'm not sure what good it's gonna do

"Everybody back! Come on, back, now." Daryl yells and grabs my arm pulling me back

"The fence keeps bending in like that, those walkers are coming over it." I point out

"Daryl, get the truck." Rick tells him and I look at him, "I know what to do."

* * *

"You found them like this?" Rick asked Tyreese who was standing over the charred remains of Karen and David

"I came to see Karen... and I saw the blood on the floor. Then I smelled them. Somebody dragged them out here and set them on fire. They killed them and set them on fire!" He yelled and moved to Rick, "You're a cop. You find out who did this and you bring 'em to me. You understand? You bring 'em to me!"

"We'll find out who-" Daryl started to say moving to pull him away but Tyreese cut him off still facing Rick

"I need to say it again?"

"No. No. I know what you're feeling. I've been there. You saw me there. It's dangerous."

"Karen didn't deserve this. David didn't deserve it. Nobody does." Tyreese says and Daryl moved over to him again

"All right, man, let's-" He put his hand on Tyreese but he spins around and pins Daryl to the gate, me, Rick and my mom move forward but Daryl held his hand up to us

"Man, I ain't going nowhere till I find out who did this!"

"We're on the same side, man." Daryl reassured him

"Hey, look, I know what you're going through. We've all lost someone. We know what you're going through right now, but you've got to calm down." Rick tells him slowly putting his hand on Tyreese who then whipped around and pushed Rick

"You need to step the hell back!"

"She wouldn't want you being like this." Rick says and Tyreese punched him in the face

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" My mom shouted moving over to Rick but Tyreese punched him again

"Tyreese stop!" I yell at him stepping in front of Rick but Tyreese shoved me out of the way but my mom caught me, I see Daryl jump at him wrapping his arms around him

"That's enough. That's enough." Daryl tells him and Rick gets up and punches Tyreese in the face, Tyreese falls to the ground then Rick kicks him and starts punching him again

"Rick." Daryl says moving over to him grabbing him, "Stop."

"Let go of me!" Rick yells move over to Tyreese, "Let go of me!" Rick yelled again shoving Daryl off, Tyreese starts to cry and I put my hand on his shoulder rubbing it and I look at Daryl.

* * *

I walked over to the graves seeing Tyreese digging a hole, "Let's get you cleaned up, man. You might even need a couple stitches." I tell him squatting next to the hole

"Not until they're in the ground." He says still digging the hole

"You should at least let Hershel or Dr. S take a look at you, make sure nothing's broken." I said and he looks at me

"When they're in the ground." He said and continued digging, I sighed standing up then grabbed a shovel and started digging as well, "I'm sorry." I look at him confused and he looked at me, "I'm sorry I shoved you."

"Please, like your the first man to push me down" I said with a smile and I saw he lips twitch a little, "I'm sorry about Karen, you're right, they didn't deserve this." I tell him and he nodded and we went back to digging the holes. If it had been Daryl I would probably feel the same way he did

* * *

"It's spread. Everyone who survived the attack in cell block D. Sasha, Caleb, and now others." Hershel tells me, my mom, Glenn, Daryl and Michonne who was standing away from us

"Oh, Jesus." I said

"So what do we do?" My mom asked him

"First things first. Cell block A is isolation. We keep the sick people there like we tried with Karen and David."

"What the hell we gonna do about that?" Daryl asked and I looked at him but my mind kind of went hazy listening to them

"Ask Rick to look into it. Try to make a timeline- who's where when. But what are we gonna do to stop this?" my mom asked

"There is no stopping it. You get it, you have to go through it." Hershel replied

"But it just kills you?" Michonne asked him

"The illness doesn't. The symptoms do. We need antibiotics."

"We've been through every pharmacy nearby. And then some." Daryl tells him

"That veterinary college at West Peachtree Tech, that's one place people may not have thought to raid for medication. The drugs for animals there are the same we need."

"That's 50 miles. Too big a risk before. Ain't now. I'm gonna take a group out. Best not waste any more time." Daryl said standing up

"I'm in." Michonne says

"You haven't been exposed. Daryl has. You get in a car with him..." Hershel started to tell her

"He's already given me fleas." She says and I gave a light chuckle

"I can lead the way. I know where everything's kept." Hershel tells us standing up

"When we're out there, it's always the same. Sooner or later we run." Daryl mentioned to him, Hershel may have a fake leg now but he's not as quick as he was before

"I can draw you a map. There are other precautions I feel we should take."

"Like what?" I asked Hershel

"There's no telling how long it'll be before Daryl and his group return. Wouldn't it make sense for us to separate the most vulnerable? We can use the administration building. Separate office, separate room."

"Who is the most vulnerable?" Glenn asked him

"The very young."

"What about the old?" Glenn asked again

TWD

"Son of a bitch is about a quart low." Daryl tells me and Michonne checking the oil in Zack's old car

"You still keep it in the bottom of tower three?" Michonne asked him

"Yeah."

"I'll go get one." She says and starts to walk away

"Hey." Daryl called to her and she looked at him, "I'm glad you're here."

"Where else would I be?"

"Running off." He tells her

"You know I'm not running off." She tells him and he nods his head, "So it's just gonna be me and you like in the old days?"

"Yeah, and Bob. Still, feels like we could use another person."

"Who else isn't sick?" She asked looking at me then back at Daryl

"We don't ask Rick. He wants to stay here with Carl and Little Ass-Kicker. Keep them safe. Plus there's plenty of stuff he could do here."

"So who else we got?" She asked, "Phoebe?"

"I think I'm gonna sit this one out, I can help out here more then out there." I told her and Daryl looks at me

"Alright, I'll go grab that for you." She tells Daryl and walked away

"You alright?" Daryl asked me and I nodded

"I'm good, just worried" I tell him and he started to move closer, "Don't, we don't if either of us got infected. We can't risk it" I said and he nodded then started working on the car again

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

"Oh, there you are." I said to Tyreese when I see him standing at the doors over A block, "Took me damn near forever to find you. Whatcha doing?" I asked him

"Somebody needs to stand watch."

"Man, I want to find them, too. Put a bolt in them for what they did." I tell him and I hear faint coughing, "These people are cut off. Ain't no way anyone's getting in and out without a whole bunch of people seeing 'em."

"Sasha's in there. I ain't going nowhere."

"Look man standing guard ain't gonna do no good unless we come back with them meds." I say and he turns back to the door, "All right. We're gassing up by the front gate in case you change your mind." I tell him and walked away

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

I walked over to Daryl and them as they got ready to leave and Daryl stood next to the car, "Be safe" I tell him and he nodded his head

"I love you"

"I love you too" I said and they drove off

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

We walked into the tech building and I raised my crossbow slowly opening the door, when I saw it was clear I motioned for the others to follow and we entered a lab, "All right let's make this quick" I tell them and we spread out grabbing supplies then heading out of the room.

"How'd you do?" Bob asked me and Tyreese when we walked into the room they were in

"Bags, tubes, clamps, connectors. Everything on the list." Tyreese tells him

"What about y'all?" I asked them

"Yeah, we got it all." Bob answered

"Yeah. We're good." Michonne adds

"All right, let's roll." I tell them grabbing my crossbow and we made our way down the hall, we near another room and I hear snarling, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." I said softly and the walker spotted us so we rushed away

"Up ahead." Michonne says as we move forward and go around a corner and entered a dark room

"Hey! Door's busted." Bob whispered and I walked over

"Oh. Hold up." I tell him going to the door latching it as best as I can when walkers started banging on it

"There." I hear Michonne say as she points her flash light towards a stair case, we walk towards it when a walker pops up but Tyreese kills it. Michonne tries the chain on the door when suddenly walkers bang up against it

"How many?" I asked her shining my light through the door

"I can't tell."

"We can take 'em." Tyreese says as the walkers from the other side manage to

"No! They're infected. Same as at the prison. We fire at 'em, get their blood on us, breathe it in. We didn't come all this way to get sick." Bob tells him

"How do we know the ones in there aren't any different?"

"We don't." Michonne replied

"Well, it's gotta change sometime." I said and kicked a table breaking the leg off and Michonne takes out her sword, "Ready?" I asked them

"Do it!" Tyresse yells and I break the chain letting the other walkers in and we start killing them, luckily there was only 3 of them

"Come on." I say grabbing my crossbow and we make our way up the stairs

TWD

We enter another hall and see a walker down it and go the other way only to run into more, we come to the end of the hall and Michonne trys the door but it's locked

"Back." I tell her moving to kick it but it wont budge

"Don't have an exit." MIchonne points out and I see a window and climb onto the wall ledge

"Then we make one."

"Get down!" Tyresse yells and throws a fire extinguisher at it breaking the glass

"Come on, move it! Jump down to the walkway below." I ordered helping Michonne up and she went out the window, followed by Tyreese, then me then Bob who jumped out and fell down with his bag hanging over the side and some walkers start to grab it.

"Bob, let it go." Michonne tells him

"Let it go, man. Just let it go." Tyreese says trying to pull him up

"Let go of the bag, man." I tell him as well but Bob manages to get it free pulling it up and it hit the roof, I hear a loud thunk as it does, I walk over to it and see a whiskey bottle, "You got no meds in your bag? Just this?" I asked him holding up the bottle and he just stared at me, "You should have kept walking that day." I said and went to throw the bottle

"Don't." He says and I see his hand on his gun I walk up to him pissed as hell and get right on his face, I grab his gun from him and stay in his face then grabbed his shirt.

"Just let it go, Daryl. The man's made his choice. Nothing you can do about it. Just gotta let it go." Tyreese says to me and I let Bob go

"I didn't want to hurt nobody. It was just for when it gets quiet." Bob says

I push the bottle into his chest, "Take one sip before those meds get in our people, I will beat your ass into the ground. You hear me?" I asked him and walked away

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

I was getting ready to head out when Daryl walked up to me, "Be careful out there"

"Are you worried about me Mr. Dixon?" I asked wrapping my arms around him, since he made it back with the meds everyone who was sick got treated but I was gonna head out with Michonne and Hershel

"Always" He says and kissed me

"What would I do without my strong husband?"

"Find someone better" He says and I smacked his chest

"Stop it, you are perfect and I love you"

"I love you too" He kissed me again and I got in the jeep then Michonne drove off

The three of us were standing in the woods talking and laughing when I hear a gun cock I raised mine up and saw the Governor, "I would drop that if I was you" He warned and I continued holding it but then lowered it and put it on the ground, "Good, now you three are gonna come with me, no use in fighting it" He told us and we looked at each other then reluctantly followed him.


	12. Chapter 12

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

 **A/N: I know I kind of put the first few episodes in one chapter on the last one but I honestly can't stand short chapters lol. I do hope everyone is still enjoying though.**

 **Daryl POV...**

"Man, you couldn't have waited till we got back?" I asked Rick as I paced

"Until Tyreese got back?" He asked me

"I could've handled that." I tell him

"Hey. Hey. She killed two of our own. She couldn't be here. What if would have been Phoebe?" He asked me and I looked at him

"She would never hurt her daughter you know that"

"She's gonna be all right. She has a car, supplies, weapons. She's a survivor." He says

"Stop saying that like you don't believe it."

"She did it. She said it was for us. That's how it was in her head. She wasn't sorry." He says

"Man, that's her, but that ain't her. What are we supposed to do about those two girls?" I asked him, "What about Phoebe?"

"I told her we'd look after them, I don't know about Phoebe, I'm hoping she will understand and I haven't told Tyreese yet. I don't know how he's gonna take it."

"Let's go find out." I tell him

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

"Don't touch me." Michonne says to the Governor as he tried to put a band aid on her head, when he took us she tried to fight back but he hit her

"Stay still." He says and got the bandaid on, then he grabbed Hershel and helped him over to the seat Michonne was at next to me then grabbed something out of his pocket, "You should eat. It's gonna be a long day. Nobody's gonna hurt you."

"I don't believe that." I tell him and he looked at me

"Well, I don't care."

"Just tell us what this is. Please." Hershel asked

"It isn't personal."

"Then what is it?" I asked him

"Michonne, I want you to know... Penny, my daughter, she was dead. I know that now. Now, I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt anyone. I need the prison, that's it. There are people I need to keep alive. You three are gonna help me take it. No one needs to die."

"I'm gonna kill you." Michonne says to him

"No, you won't."

"I'm gonna take my-" She started to say but Hershel cut her off

"Stop it. You want the prison?" Hershel asked him

"Yeah. And I'll take it as peacefully as I can."

"Governor-" Hershel says

"Don't call me that."

"Your people, our people, we can find a way to live together. These people you need to keep alive, do you love them?" He asked

"You're a good man, Hershel. A better man than Rick."

"Everything you've said, the way you've said it, you've changed. So has Rick." Hershel told him

"The two of us will never be able to live together. Michonne and I, we'll never be able to live together."

"We'll find a way." Hershel says

"I found a way! I'm trying hard. There's all kinds of ways I could do this. This way, you get to live and I get to be..." He started to say and walked over to the door

"You say you want to take this prison as peacefully as possible. That means you'd be willing to hurt people to get it. My daughters would be there, Phoebe's husband and mother would be in there. That's who you'd be hurting." Hershel says

"If you understand what it's like to have a daughter, then how can you threaten to kill someone else's?" I asked him

"Because they aren't mine." He answered and walked out

* * *

We got moved from the RV to a truck and drove to the prison, I looked at both of my friends as we got closer then looked out the window, next thing I knew there was a loud explosion and I saw a guard tower on fire, "Rick! Come down here. We need to talk." The Governor says and there was a pause, "Is Hershel on the council?" He asked and the truck door opened and a guy grabbed out Hershel, "What about Michonne? She on the council, too?" He asked and another person grabbed her, "What about Phoebe?" A guy grabbed me and walked me over to the others and made me kneel down next to Michonne, I looked up at the prison trying to see everyone but since we barricaded the fence it made it hard. I knew Daryl was standing there and was most likely boiling with rage that the Governor had me.

"I don't make decisions anymore." I hear Rick shout to the Governor

"You're making the decisions today, Rick. Come down here. Let's... Let's have that talk."

* * *

"Let 'em go right now. I'll stay down here." Rick tells him as he walked down to the other side of the fence by an tipped over bus, "Talk as long as you want. But you let 'em go. You got a tank. You don't need hostages."

"I do. This is just to show you I'm serious. Not to blast a hole in our new home. You and your people, you have till sundown to get out of here or they die."

"Doesn't have to go down this way." Rick says

"I got more people, more firepower. We need this prison. There it is."

"It's not about the past. It's about right now. There are children here. Some of them are sick. They won't survive." Rick pleads

"I have a tank. And I'm letting you walk away from here. What else is there to talk about? I could shoot you all. You'd all shoot back. I know that. But we'll win and you'll be dead. All of you. Doesn't have to be like that. Like I said, it's your choice." The Governor tells him and we hear a walker snarling, the Governor shoots it and I jumped, normally I don't but when you're kneeling on the ground with your hands tied behind your back you can't help it, "Noise will only draw more of them over. The longer you wait, the harder it will be for you to get out of here. You got maybe about an hour of sunlight left. I suggest you start packing. The longer you wait, the harder it's gonna be for you to get out of here."

"We can all- we can all live together. There's enough room for all of us." Rick tells him

"More than enough. But I don't think my family would sleep well knowing that you were under the same roof."

"We'd live in different cell blocks. We'd never have to see each other till we're all ready." Rick mentioned

"It could work. You know it could." Hershel says to the Governor

"It could've. But it can't. Not after Woodbury. Not after Andrea." The Governor says and I clench my jaw

"Look, I'm not saying it's gonna be easy. Fact is, it's gonna be a hell of a lot harder than standing here shooting at each other. But I don't think we have a choice." Rick brought up

"We don't. You do."

"We're not leaving. You try and force us, we'll fight back. Like you said, the gunshots will just bring more of them out. They'll take down the fences. Without the fences, this place is worthless. Now, we can all live in the prison or none of us can." Rick says and I see the Governor get down from the tank and walk over to Hershel with Michonne's sword, _No_

"You. You in the ponytails. Is this what you want? Is this what any of you want?" Rick asked the other people behind us

"What we want is what you got. Period. Time for you to leave, asshole." The guy in the tank tells him

"Look, I fought him before. And after, we took in his old friends. They've become leaders in what we have here. Now you put down your weapons, walk through those gates... you're one of us. We let go of all of it, and nobody dies. Everyone who's alive right now. Everyone who's made it this far. We've all done the worst kinds of things just to stay alive. But we can still come back. We're not too far gone. We get to come back. I know... we all can change." Rick says to everyone

"Liar." The Governor says and swung the sword to Hershel's neck and for a moment I couldn't move as Hershel's body fell over

"No!" Rick yelled and shot at the Governor

"Michonne!" I yelled and we both rolled to get away as everyone fired their guns, I saw a guy move forward as I moved to the side of a vehicle and kicked his legs knocking him down then swung my foot onto his head knocking him out then I grabbed the knife from his belt which is very hard to do when your hands are behind you and I cut my bindings then hid behind the vehicle

"Go through the fence in your cars. Get your guns, we go in. Kill them all." The Governor tells everyone

"Roger that. Move in!" The guy in the tank ordered and they all moved forward, I saw Michonne's sword on the ground and I ran over to hit killing a couple more people and saw her running

"Michonne!" I yelled and ran over to her handing her the sword as I picked up a gun, "I need to get up there!" I started to move forward but she stopped me

"You can't"

"Daryl's up there! My mom!" I tell her

"It's to dangerous we can't. Come on!" She yelled and I looked back up at the prison, "We'll find him, I promise." She says and I followed her then we saw the Governor beating up Rick she rushed over to and stabbed the Governor through the chest

"Rick?!" I rushed over and helped him up

"Carl? Where's Carl?"

"I don't know. Where's Daryl?" I asked but he walked away, "Rick!" I yelled but Michonne pulled me back

"We got to go, come on!" She told me and we ran. Once we made it a safe distance away we looked back and saw our former home up in flames. I looked at Michonne and we continued moving until she stopped and lured 2 walkers over to her and cut off their arms, grabbed a rope and tied them around her waist, I walked next to her when we came up on Hershel's body, I saw his head on the ground growling. I looked at Michonne and reached my hand out for her sword, she handed to me and I fought back tears then lifted it up and stabbed it.

"Goodbye old friend" I said and handed the sword back to her and we continued to move. Now my next mission was to find Daryl, my mom and the others, I wasn't gonna stop until I was back in my husband's arms again.

* * *

"We should find a place to rest" I told Michonne as we continued walking through the woods coming up on a road, she nodded her head and we moved towards a broken down car. I got in the back seat and she got in the front hooking the rope holding the walkers the the door, "Get some rest" I told her and she laid down, I however couldn't sleep, just sat there looking at my ring trying to fight back tears. I needed to find Daryl I just had to, and my mom, I had this empty feeling inside me that I couldn't explain but I know seeing them would fill it, to be in Daryl's arms, to know my mom is okay. I was broken out of my thoughts when Michonne jerked awake, "Hey you ok?" I asked her and she looked at me

"I'm fine. How long was I out?"

"I think about 10 minutes" I told her and she looked at me

"Did you rest?" She asked and I shook my head

"I can't turn off my brain" I said and she grabbed my hand

"We'll find them. we'll find them all" She says and I sniffled then laid my head down and fell asleep

* * *

As we walked down the road I looked down and stopped, "What is it?" she asked

"I see shoe prints here in the mud," I showed her and followed them with my eyes, "This way" I tell her and we follow them with memories of Daryl teaching me how to track flooding my head

We made our way to an old restaurant and walked in, we see a dead walker on the floor and looked at each other, I rushed to the back to look around and didn't find anything then came back out and saw Michonne sitting on the floor talking to herself so I just stood there and listened.

"Mike. I miss you. I missed you even when I was with you. Back at the camp. It wasn't you who did it. You were wrong. Because I'm still here. And you could be, too. And he could be. I know the answer. I know why." She says and I walk over to her and sit down next to her. I didn't know a lot of things about her past but I wouldn't push it, right now I would just be there for her, she looked at me and gave me a sad smile then we got up and continued on, "Do you think about your life before all this?" She asked me

"Sometimes, part of it is slipping away but other parts remain. Graduating out of the police academy with Rick and...Shane, doing what I could to protect my mom and my sister from my dad, getting stabbed by a robber and almost dying. It feels like forever ago even though it wasn't" I said and she nodded, "You?"

"All the time"

* * *

We get near some houses and saw a giant can on the ground and walked over to it seeing it was pudding, we looked at each other then a house that was on our left so we made our way up to it and looked in the window. I smiled and cried in relief when I saw Rick and Carl sitting on the floor, I smiled at Michonne as she wiped a tear away and went over to the door and knocked.

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

"We should do something. We should do something. We aren't the only survivors. We can't be. Rick, Michonne, Phoebe they could be out here." Beth says and I stare at the fire feeling a pain in my heart when she said Phoebe's name, last I saw of her she was on her knees with the Governors people. I wanted to rip that damn prick's head off for taking her. I didn't know if she was alive but I really hoped she was and that we would find each other. I can't lose her, "Maggie and Glenn could have made it out of A block. They could've. You're a tracker. You can track. Come on. The sun will be up soon. If we head out now, we can- Fine. If you won't track, I will." She tells me and grabbed my knife out of the ground and walked away, I watched her go then after a moment I got up and put out the fire

"Could be Luke's. Or Molly's. Whoever they are, it means they're alive." She says looking down at the shoe prints I found in the dirt

"No. This means they were alive four or five hours ago." I tell her

"They're alive." She said and walked away, we followed the tracks

"They picked up the pace right here. Got out in a hurry. Things went bad." I pointed out

"Wouldn't kill you to have a little faith."

"Yeah, faith. Faith ain't done shit for us. Sure as hell didn't do nothing for your father." I said and regretted it instantly, I turned around and saw her looking at me, I looked at her saying sorry with my eyes and she started picking berries

"They'll be hungry when we find them." She mentioned and I grabbed the bandana I had and tapped her arm with it so she could put them in there, I walked into the grass heading to the woods and she followed but then I stopped looking at two dead walkers, "What?"

"That ain't walker blood." I point out

"The trail keeps going. They fought them off."

"No. Got walker tracks all up and down here. At least a dozen of them" I mentioned and moved away, I hear a twig snap and next thing I knew a walker grabbed Beth, I aimed my crossbow but couldn't get a good shot so I dropped it then reached for my knife but forgot she had it so I grabbed the walker off her and threw it to the ground, I saw her pick up the knife and I nodded rolling it so it was on top and she stabbed it. I got up and grabbed my crossbow then we moved on and found a set of train tracks seeing a few walkers eating some bodies, I shot two of them then stabbed another with my arrow and looked at the bodies then heard Beth crying.

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

"Did you see Daryl at all?" I asked Rick as we stood in the house

"No..I'm sorry"

I swallowed the lump in my throat, "My mom? Did you see my mom?" I asked and he looked at me then the ground, "Rick?"

"She-she wasn't there"

"What do you mean?" I asked him and we looked at Michonne and Carl

"Why don't we go see what we can find around here" Michonne says to Carl and they walk away

"Rick, what do mean she wasn't there?"

He looked at me and shifted, "She-she killed Karen and David" He told me and I looked at him shocked

"What?"

"When we found their bodies, she did it" He says and I shake my head

"No, no there's just no way. She wouldn't do that"

"Phoebe, she told me she did it, when we went on that run" He told me

"So..so then..what..."

"I sent her away" He tells me and I looked at him with shock and disbelief

"You what?" I asked him holding back tears, "You did what?!"

"Shh.."

"That's my mom!" I yelled at him moving to him but I backed away, I wanted to hit him but he was still healing, "You son of a bitch"

"I couldn't have her there, not with everyone getting sick who knows what she would have done."

I stood there with my hands on my hips looking at the ground, "You should have came to me when you started to figure it out, I could have talked to her"

"I'm sorry, I am. I gave her a car and some supplies and who knows we may see her again"

I scoffed, "You know if people telling me that I just might scream," I said fighting tears, "I don't know if I'm gonna find her, or Daryl for that matter. I'm trying, I'm trying really hard not to lose hope but I'm slipping Rick...I haven't found anything leading me to Daryl and I can't breathe because I don't.."

"Hey, hey it's ok" He says pulling me into a hug as I cried

* * *

Me and Carl sat at the table in the house the next day eating dry cereal when Michonne walked over and Carl started to laugh

"Do you have something to say about my extremely comfortable and attractive shirt?" She asked him and I smirked

"No, no, no. It looks great. Oh, you missed a..." He indicated to a button she missed

"I wish we had some soy milk." She says and I looked at her

"Seriously?" I asked her

"Yes, seriously. Have you ever tried it? Either of you?"

"My best friend in third grade he was allergic to dairy" Carl told her

"Uh-huh."

"And every day he would bring this soy stuff to lunch. I tried it." He says

"And?" I asked

"I threw up." He says and we chuckled

"Oh, yeah, right." Michonne says

"All right, all right. I almost threw up. But I was like, ugh. It was so gross. I mean, literally, I would rather have powdered milk than to have to drink that stuff again. I would rather have Judith's formula-" He started to say but stopped, I looked at him and felt my heart break, "I'm gonna go finish my book. I have a couple chapters left." He says and got up

"Carl..." I said but he continued walking then Rick walked in

"Thank you. I heard him laughing in there. Almost forgot what that sounded like." Rick pointed out and I give him a small smile, "I can't be his father and his best friend. He needs you. I know that's a lot to throw at you. So if you're ever feeling like you need a break..." He started to say to Michonne and me

"I'm done taking breaks. So what's the plan? This place, is it home or just a stop along the way?" I asked him , I needed to continue looking for Daryl and my mom

"Well, let's- let's just stay here while we figure it out."

"Well, we'll need more supplies. I'll go with Carl and get some." Michonne tells him

"I'll come, too."

"You were unconscious yesterday." She tells him

"I'm awake today."

"We need you strong. Just rest. Just one more day. I'll go with them" I tell him and Michonne nodded at me

"How long you think you'll be?" Rick asked us as we walked out the door

"Fill a couple bags, shouldn't be too long." Michonne told him

"It's 8:15 now."

"We'll be back by noon." I said

"All right, you follow their lead. You understand?" Rick asked Carl handing him his gun, "Hey. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just... hungry."

"All right. I'll see you in a couple hours." Rick tells him

"Clean yourself up, rest, you look like ass" I say to him and he chuckled then we make our way down the steps

* * *

"Find anything good? Candy bars? Comic books? Crazy Cheese?" Michonne asked him as we walked out of one of the houses

"Huh?" He asked her and I saw her reach into her bag

"Bam, Crazy Cheese." She says holding a can and I giggled, "Found it still sealed and everything. Now I'll be nice and let you have the first pull." She offered him

"No, thanks."

"Are you sure?" She asked

"I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine." I point out to him

"I'm just tired. Okay?" He says and I nod then see Michonne spray some cheese into her mouth with some hanging out and started hissing I looked at her and my head smiling but Carl didn't seem phased and continued walking, she wiped the cheese away and I wrap my arm around her shoulder as we catch up

"I'm sorry. I'm not very good at making boys your age laugh." She tells him

"I was laughing. Inside." He tells her as we knock on the outside of another house

"Toddlers find me funny. Two, three-year-olds."

"What do you mean toddlers?" He asked

"I had a three-year-old son and he happened to find me extremely funny." She says and I looked at her confused as she opens the door to the house and we walk in, "We need food, batteries, water, in that order."

"Why didn't you ever tell me you had a kid? What was his name? Did you have any others? Were you married?" Carl kept asking

"Okay. I'll answer one question at a time, one room at a time, and only after we've cleared"

"Okay." He tells her and she looked at me

"You game?" She asked and I looked into a room

"Sure" I said and we began searching

* * *

"What was your son's name?" Carl asked her as she stands there looking at a painting

"I said after."

"Well, these are actually two separate rooms and we already cleared that one, so..." He pointed out

"Andre. His name was Andre Anthony. Make sure there isn't a box of cookies hiding in there." She pointed to a cabinet

"Did you have any other kids?" He asked her

"Rules of the game, my friend."

"So? Did you?" He asked following us int the hallway and she looked at another picture

"You know, you could be a spy."

"Or a cop." I add

"No. One was enough for me. And Andre was a handful, like you."

"Does this hallway count as a room?"

"If you can find something we can use."

"This is the only thing I could find. Does it count?" He asked bringing over a covered painting

"Technically, yes." She says and grabbed it

"Phoebe," He says to me and I looked at him, "What's your best memory, with Sophia?" He asked and I sighed

"Her 10th birthday, I had the day off and my dad was at work so I took her and my mom to the circus that was in town, granted I really didn't want to go due to my massive fear of clowns," I said and they both laughed, "But I took them, we went on rides, pet the animals saw a few shows, ate more then we could handle and finally headed home. My dad found out and tried to take it out on my mom but I stood in the way telling him it was me not her. That night I went up to Sophia's room and tucked her in, she thanked me and said it was the best birthday ever then I laid with her until she fell asleep." I said wiping a tear away and sighed, Carl grabbed my hand and smiled at me then I continued walking through the house with them getting to another room

"So? How long has it been?" Carl asked Michonne

"It happened after- you know, after everything happened."

"Does my dad know?" He asked

"Never told him. Never told anyone till just now"

"Your secret is safe with me." Carl tells her and I smiled

"Me too" I added

"It's not really a secret."

"It's still safe with us." He says then me and him went into another room, "Did you and Daryl ever think about kids?" He asked me after we cleared the room

"We did, we were planning on it but...then all this other stuff happened" I tell him and he nodded

"He's ok, I know he is" He tells me and I smile at him

"Thanks buddy. Let's go find Michonne" I said and we walked out of the room hearing a door slam and made our way to a kids room

"Michonne? Everything okay?" Carl asked her and we see her leaning against a door

"Yeah, it's fine."

"There's a baby in there." Carl brought up

"It's a dog."

"My dad let me name her. Maybe- maybe her, Sophia and Andre are together somewhere." Carl says and I wrap my arm around his shoulder

"I'm sure they are" I said

"Come on. It's almost noon. Your dad will wonder where we are if we're late." Michonne told him and we walked out of the house and made our way back to the one we were in when we see Rick running over to us

"Go! Go!" He quietly yelled and we hear gunshots go off in the house and run away. After a while we came up on an old train car with a sign for a place called Terminus,

"What do you think?" I asked Rick

"Let's go"

If any of our people saw this they could be there. Daryl could be there

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

We ran out of the woods as a storm was coming and walkers followed us, I opened the trunk of a car and Beth climbed in then I followed closing it as the storm blew through and walkers bumped against the car. Next day I shot a a snake then started to skin it and Beth looked at me, we sat by a fire after I cooked it and I continued eating my half. Food was food right?

"I need a drink." She tells me and I threw the water bottle at her, "No, I mean a real drink. As in alcohol. I've never had one. 'Cause of my dad. But he's not exactly around anymore, so... I thought we could go find some." She says and I continue eating, "Okay. Well, enjoy your snake jerky." She says and got up walking away,I walked up on her as walkers walked away and she looked at me, I walked away leading her back to camp, although she didn't know that, "I think we made it a way. I'm pretty sure we got to go that way to find the booze." She says and hit our hubcaps that she hung, "What the hell? You brought me back. I'm not staying in this suck-ass camp." She says flipping me off and I grabbed her had

"Hey! You had your fun." I tell her

"What the hell is wrong with you? Do you feel anything? Yeah, you think everything's screwed. I guess that's a feeling. So you want to spend the rest of our lives staring into a fire and eating mud snakes? Screw that. We might as well do something. I can take care of myself and I'm gonna get a damn drink." She said and walked away, I looked back at the camp. I do feel something, an emptiness that Phoebe fills, that's why I need to find her.

* * *

"Golfers like to booze it up, right?" She asked as we came up on a golf resort, "Come on." She says and we walk to the building, "Might be people inside." She tries the door with no luck so we headed to another one and walk in, I ready my crossbow and we see a couple walkers hanging from the ceiling. I bent down and found a purse on the ground with money and jewelry sticking out, I started putting it all back in the bag, "Why are you keeping all that stuff?" She asked me and I looked back down and saw something that caught my eye, I grabbed it and put it in my pocket then we hear banging on the door we came in

"Come on." I tell her and we headed out of the room and walked through a dark hallway, I looked up at the shelves and grabbed a few things while Beth walked away. Then I hear her grunt and I rushed over to see her above a dead walker

"Thanks for the help."

"You said you could take care of yourself. You did." I tell her and walked away then we headed down some stairs, I crawled under a tipped over cabinet and lifted a clock, it chimed and I waited a moment then got out with Beth following

"Help me take her down." She said indicating to a dead body that was displayed with a piece of paper that said 'Rich Bitch' on it

"It don't matter. She's dead."

"It does matter." she tells me and I grab a blanket

"Here." I drape it over the body and we headed down another hall then a clock chimed, I turned down a hall shining my light and saw walkers at the end of it, "Move." I tell her and we moved down a different hall ending up in a bar part of the resort with the walkers following us, I shoot one in the head and pushed another hitting it with the golf club as another came in and I stabbed the club through its head, another one came and I kicked it then stabbed the other that came through with my knife as the one I kicked stood up, I knocked it to the ground and started beating it with the club then swung it splattering it on Beth. She took off her top shirt and walked towards the bar.

"We made it. I know you think this is stupid. And it probably is. But I don't care. All I wanted to do today was lay down and cry, but we don't get to do that. So beat up on walkers if that makes you feel better. I need to do this." She says and walked away, I found a framed piece of paper and broke the frame with my crossbow, "Did you have to break the glass?"

"No. You have your drink yet?" I asked her

"No. But I found this. Peach schnapps. Is it good?" She asked and I walked past her

"No."

"Well, it's the only thing left. Who needs a glass?" She asked as I grabbed some darts throwing them at the pictures of some rich assholes on the walk and I hear her start to cry. I looked at her then threw the last dart and walked over to her grabbing the bottle and threw it on the floor

"Ain't gonna have your first drink be no damned peach schnapps." I tell her and grabbed my crossbow moving to the door, "Come on." I tell her and we left

* * *

"A motorcycle mechanic." Beth says

"Huh?"

"That's my guess. For what you were doing before the turn. Did Zack ever guess that one?" She asked me

"It don't matter. Hasn't mattered for a long time."

"It's just what people talk about, you know, to feel normal." She pointed out

"Yeah, well, that never felt normal to me." I tell her and we come up on a cabin, "Found this place with...Phoebe." I tell her and she put her hand on my shoulder but I walked away

"I was expecting a liquor store."

"No, this is better." I tell her and we head over to a shed and I grab out a grate

"What's that?" She asked and I handed it to her

"Moonshine. Come on." I said and we headed into the house, I blow into a cup then put some into it handing it to her, "All right. That's a real first drink right there." I tell her and she looked at it, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing. It's just... my dad always said bad moonshine can make you go blind."

"Ain't nothing worth seeing out there anymore anyway." I point out and she takes a sip

"That's the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted." She poured herself another one, "Second round's better." I said and she pours some into a cup, "Slow down."

"This one's for you."

"No, I'm good." I declined

"Why?"

"Someone's got to keep watch." I mention

"So, what, you're like my chaperone now?" She asked

"Just drink lots of water." I tell her walking away

"Yes, Mr. Dixon." She says and I stop

 _"Are you worried about me Mr. Dixon?" Phoebe asked me when we were back at the prison_

 _"Always" I tell her and kissed her_

 _"What would I do without my strong husband?"_

 _"Find someone better" I say and she smacked my chest_

 _"Stop it, you are perfect and I love you"_

 _"I love you too" I replied_

"Who'd go into a store and walk out with this?" Beth asked bringing me out of my thoughts pointing at a glass bra

"My dad, that's who. Oh, he's a dumb ass. He'd set those up on top of the TV set, use them as target practice."

"He shot things inside your house?" She asked me

"It was just a bunch of junk anyway. That's how I knew what this place was. That shed out there, my dad had a place just like this. You got your Dumpster chair. That's for sitting in and your drawers all summer drinking. Got your fancy buckets. That's for spitting chaw in after your old lady tells you to stop smoking. You got your internet." I point out picking up a newspaper then we hear growling, "It's just one of 'em."

"Should we get it?" She asked

"If he keeps making too much noise, yeah."

"Well, if we're gonna be trapped again, we might as well make the best of it. Unless you're too busy chaperoning, Mr. Dixon." She says and I sighed, I wanted to hear Phoebe call me that again

"Hell, might as well make the best of it." I tell her grabbing the jar and sat in the chair, "Home, sweet home."

* * *

"So first I say something I've never done and if you have done it, you drink, and if you haven't, I drink. Then we switch. You really don't know this game?" She asked me

"I never needed a game to get lit before." I tell her and took a drink

"Wait, are we starting?"

"How do you know this game?" I asked her

"My friends played. I watched. Okay, I'll start. I've never shot a crossbow. So now you drink."

"Ain't much of a game." I said taking a drink

"That was a warm-up. Now you go."

"I don't know." I told her chewing on my thumb

"Just say the first thing that pops into your head."

"I've never been out of Georgia." I point out

"Really?" She asked, "Okay, good one." She took a drink, "I've never... been drunk and did something I regretted." I took a drink

"I've done a lot of things."

"Your turn." She says

"I've never been on vacation."

"What about camping?" She asked me

"No, that was just something I had to learn to hunt."

"Your dad teach you?" She asked

"Mm-hmm."

"Okay. I've never... been in jail. I mean, as a prisoner." She says and I look at her

"Is that what you think of me?" I asked her

"I didn't mean anything serious. I just thought, you know, like the drunk tank. Even my dad got locked up for that back in the day."

"Drink up." I tell her

"Wait. Prison guard. Were you a prison guard before?" She asked me

"No."

"It's your turn again." She says and I stand up

"I'm gonna take a piss." I said and smashed a jar

"You have to be quiet."

"Can't hear you! I'm taking a piss!" I yell

"Daryl, don't talk so loud."

"What, are you my chaperone now?" I asked then zipped up my pants, "Oh, wait. It's my turn, right? I've never- never eaten frozen yogurt. Never had a pet pony. Never got nothing from Santa Claus. Never relied on anyone for protection before. Hell, I don't think I've ever relied on anyone for anything." I tell her

"Daryl."

"Never sung out in front of a big group out in public like everything was fun. Like everything was a big game. I sure as hell never cut my wrists looking for attention." I said and the walker outside pounds against the wall, "Sounds like our friend out there is trying to call all of his buddies." I point out grabbing my crossbow

"Daryl, just shut up."

"Hey, you never shot a crossbow before?" I asked her, "I'm gonna teach you right now. Come on. It's gonna be fun."

"We should stay inside. Daryl, cut it out! Daryl!" She yells as I pull her outside

"Dumbass. Come here, dumbass." I yell at the walker and shoot it's shoulder pinning it to the wall outside the house

"Daryl."

"You want to shoot?" I asked her

"I don't know how."

"Oh, it's easy. Come here." I tell her putting my arm around her holding the crossbow in front of her, "Right corner." I shoot it in the leg

"Let's practice later."

"Come on, it's fun."

"Just stop it. Daryl!" She says

"Come here." I put the crossbow in front of her again, "Eight ball." I shoot it again

"Just kill it!"

"Come here, Greene. Let's pull these out. Get a little more target practice." I tell her and she walked over then stabbed the walker, "What the hell you do that for? I was having fun."

"No, you were being a jackass. If anyone found my dad-"

"Don't." I cut her off, "That ain't remotely the same."

"Killing them is not supposed to be fun."

"What do you want from me, girl, huh?" I asked her

"I want to you stop acting like you don't give a crap about anything. Like nothing we went through matters. Like none of the people we lost meant anything to you. Like Phoebe never meant anything. It's bullshit!"

"Is that what you think?" I asked her

"That's what I know."

"You don't know nothing." I said

"I know you look at me and you just see another dead girl. I'm not Michonne. I'm not Carol. I'm not Phoebe. I'm not Maggie. I've survived and you don't get it 'cause I'm not like you or them. But I made it and you don't get to treat me like crap just because you're afraid."

"I ain't afraid of nothing." I tell her

"I remember. When that little girl came out of the barn after my mom." She says and a pain goes through my heart again, "You were like me. And now God forbid you ever let anybody get too close. Other then Phoebe"

"Too close, huh? You know all about that. You lost two boyfriends, you can't even shed a tear. Your whole family's gone, all you can do is just go out looking for hooch like some dumb college bitch."

"Screw you. You don't get it." She says

"No, you don't get it! Everyone we know is dead!"

"You don't know that!" She argued

"Might as well be, 'cause you ain't never gonna see 'em again. Rick. You ain't never gonna see Maggie again. I don't even know where Phoebe is."

"Daryl, just stop." She says moving to touch me but I moved away

"No! The Governor rolled right up to our gates. Had Phoebe there. Maybe if I wouldn't have stopped looking. Maybe 'cause I gave up. That's on me and now I don't know if my wife is alive or not."

"Daryl."

"No- And your dad. Maybe- maybe I could have done something." I said and couldn't help it, I started to cry, I've only ever cried in front of Phoebe. I feel Beth wrap her arms around me from behind

"We'll find her"

* * *

"I get why my dad stopped drinking." Beth says as we sat on the deck

"You feel sick?"

"Nope. I wish I could feel like this all the time. That's bad."

"Hmm. You're lucky you're a happy drunk." I tell her

"Yeah, I'm lucky. Some people can be real jerks when they drink."

"Yeah, I'm a dick when I'm drunk." I point out, "Merle had this dealer. This janky little white guy. A tweaker. One day we were over at his house watching TV. Wasn't even noon yet and we were all wasted. Merle was high. We were watching this show and Merle was talking all this dumb stuff about it. And he wouldn't let up. Merle never could. Turns out it was the tweaker's kids' favorite show. And he never sees his kids, so he felt guilty about it or something. So he punches Merle in the face. So I started hitting the tweaker, like, hard. As hard as I can. Then he pulls a gun, sticks it right here. He says, "I'm gonna kill you, bitch." So Merle pulls his gun on him. Everyone's yelling. I'm yelling. I thought I was dead. Over a dumb cartoon about a talking dog."

"How'd you get out of it?" She asked me

"The tweaker punched me in the gut. I puked. They both started laughing and forgot all about it. You want to know what I was before all this? I was just drifting around with Merle...doing whatever he said we were gonna be doing that day. I was nobody. Nothing. Some redneck asshole and an even bigger asshole for a brother."

"You miss him, don't you?" She asked and I nodded, "I miss Maggie. I miss her bossing me around. I miss my big brother Shawn. He was so annoying and overprotective. And my dad. I thought- I hoped he'd just live the rest of his life in peace, you know? I thought Maggie and Glenn would have a baby. And he'd get to be a grandpa. And we'd have birthdays and holidays and summer picnics. And he'd get really old. And it'd happen, but it'd be quiet. It'd be okay. He'd be surrounded by people he loved. That's how unbelievably stupid I am."

'That's how it was supposed to be." I tell her

"I wish I could just... change." She says

"You did."

"Not enough. Not like you. It's like you were made for how things are now." She pointed out

"I'm just used to it, things being ugly. Growing up in a place like this." I point out

"Well, you got away from it."

"I didn't." I said

"You did."

"Maybe you got to keep on reminding me sometimes." I mention

"No. You can't depend on anybody for anything, right? I'll be gone someday."

"Stop." I said

"I will. You're gonna be the last man standing. You are. You're gonna miss me so bad when I'm gone, Daryl Dixon."

"You ain't a happy drunk at all." I tell her

"Yeah, I'm happy. I'm just not blind. You got to stay who you are, not who you were. Places like this, you have to put it away."

"What if you can't?"

"You have to. Or it kills you. Here. We should go inside. We should burn it down.

"We're gonna need more booze." I mention and we got up then started pouring the moonshine all over the place then went outside, I held a bundle of money from the golf course as she light it and then I threw it at the house, we watched it go up in flames, she nudged me and I saw her hold her middle finger up so I did the same then we left.

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

"I think we got about a day's worth of water left. We're lucky it's cooled off a little bit, but..." Rick started to say and we both looked back at Michonne and Carl walking trying to balance on the train tracks, "What are you doing?"

"Winning a bet." Carl says

"In your dreams." Michonne argued

"I'm still on." He says and started to wobble

"You spoke too soon, wise guy."

"This might go on a while. Maybe we can speed this up." Rick says to them

"Yeah, you're right. Shouldn't be fooling around. We should probably- Carl!" Michonne yelled trying to psych him out but ended up stumbling off

"I win. Pay up." He tells her and she reached into her bag pulling out two candy bars, "Is that really the last Big Cat?" He asked and reached for it

"Oh, come on."

"Hey, but you said winner's choice." He tells her

"Go ahead, take it. It's yours. You won it fair and square." She says and puts the other in her bag and he handed her half of it

"Come on, we always share." He told her

"Fork it over."

"Shall we continue now?" Rick asked and I looked at him

"Oh hell no I got winner," I smiled going to Carl, "Come on" I said and he smiled then we got on and competed while Rick and Michonne laughed. After a while Carl eventually stumbled off and I laughed

"Alright, what do you want?"

"I wanna wear the hat for a bit," I said and they looked at me confused, "Hey all I had was a stupid baseball hat" I told Rick and he chuckled then Carl handed me the hat, "That's Sheriff Dixon to you" I tipped the hat and Carl smiled then we continued walking.

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

I slowly crept up on a rabbit I was hunting and shot it but then another arrow hit it the same time mine did, "What the hell are you doing?" I asked the guy named Len from a group I ran into after I lost Beth

"Catching me some breakfast."

"That's mine." I tell him walking over to the rabbit

"My arrow's the one that hit first. Cottontail belongs to me."

"Been out here since before the sun came up." I point out

"You see, the rules of the hunt don't mean jack out here. Now, that rabbit you're holding is claimed, boy. Claimed whether you like it or not. So I was you, I'd hand it over. Now before you get to wishing you ain't never even got out of bed this morning."

"It ain't yours." I said

"You know, I'll bet this bitch got you all messed up, hmm? Am I right? Got you walking around here like a dead man who just lost himself a piece of tail. Must have been a good'un. Tell me something. Was it one of the little'uns?" He asked I knew he was talking about Beth, I never told them about Phoebe, I reached down and grabbed my knife, "'Cause they don't last too long out here." He says and I was just about to attack him when Joe, the leader walked over

"Easy, fellas, easy." He says putting my hand down, "Let's just put our weapons down. See if we can't figure out what's really the problem here, huh? Did you claim it?" He asked Len

"Hell, yeah."

"Well, there you go. That critter belongs to Len." He tells me and I stood there looking at him not giving in, "Looks like you may be wanting an explanation. See, going it alone, that ain't an option nowadays. Still, it is survival of the fittest. That's a paradox right there. So I laid out some rules of the road to keep things from going Darwin every couple hours. Keep our merry band together and stress-free. All you got to do is claim. That's how you mark your territory, your prey, your bed at night. One word, claimed."

"I ain't claiming nothing." I said to him

"We're gonna teach him, right?" Len asked Joe, "The rules say we got to teach him."

"It wouldn't be fair to punish you for violating a rule you never even knew existed."

"There ain't no rules no more." I point out

"Oh, there are. You know that. That's why I didn't kill you for the crossbow." He says and grabbed the rabbit and I jerked, "Easy there, partner." He lifted the rabbit up but I didn't let go then he took his machete and cut the rabbit in half giving Len the head, "Claimed. That's all you got to say. Hey, ass end is still an end."

* * *

"So what's the plan, Daryl?" Joe asked me

"How so?"

"You're with us now, but you ain't soon?" He asked

"Yep."

"So what's the plan?" He asks

"Just looking for the right place is all." I tell him

"Oh, we ain't good enough for you, huh?"

"Some of you ain't exactly friendly." I mention looking at Len

"You ain't so friendly yourself. You know you need a group out here."

"Maybe I don't." I said

"No, you do. You should be with us. People don't got to be friendly. We don't have to be nice. We don't have to be brothers in arms. We just got to follow the rules. You claim. If you steal, you keel. I know that sounds a little funny, but nobody laughs when something goes missing. And you don't lie. 'Cause that's a slippery slope indeed." He explained

"What happens if you break 'em?" I asked

"Oh, you catch a beatin'. The severity of which depends upon the offense and the general attitude of the day. But that don't happen much 'cause when men like us follow rules and cooperate a little bit, well, the world becomes ours." He says and we come up on a shed, "Right there. It's our abode for the evening."

"Hey. There ain't no us."

"You leaving right now?" He asked me, "No? Then it sure seems like there's an us. You a cat person, Daryl?" I shook my head, "I am. Loved 'em since I was three years old. Vicious creatures. Anyway, I'll tell you, and this is true, ain't nothing sadder than an outdoor cat that thinks he's an indoor cat." He says and we head inside, the others walked around to old cars claiming them, I gave up and went to the middle then laid on the floor looking at Len then looked at the ceiling and ran my thumb along my ring, I had only hoped I was getting closer to finding her and hoped I wasn't with this group when I did, who knows what would happen. As I laid there my mind drifted into a memory

 _I was lying in bed with Phoebe watching her as she slept and I moved some hair out of her face, "I know you're looking at me" She says and I smiled then she opened her eyes and I kissed her_

 _"Good morning Mrs. Dixon"_

 _She leaned up and kissed me, "Good morning to you too, Mr. Dixon" She moved and started to get up but I pulled her back down_

 _"Where do you think you're goin'?" I asked her and she giggled_

 _"I have stuff to do before our run today" She started to say but I started to kiss her neck and flipped her over, "And here I thought you would be to worn out after last night." She says, it was impossible for me to keep my hands off her_

 _"I'll never get enough of you, I love you too much"_

 _"I love you too, and I can't imagine what my life would be like without you." She says and I kissed her_

 _"You'll never have to worry about that, I told you, I'm never going anywhere" I said and she kissed me and we continued what we were doing_

I have to find her.

* * *

"White Lightning. Easiest thing to make with the least amount of supplies." He says handing me a flask, "I'd start slow if I was you. Your stomach's probably emptier than you think."

I take a drink and hand it back to him, "Mmm. I ain't been lit at dawn since before everything fell apart."

"Fell apart. I never looked at it like that. Seems to me like things are finally starting to fall together. At least for guys like us. Living like this, surviving. We've been doing this from the start, right? Getting closer." He said and we come up on a sign for Terminus,

"You seen this before?" I asked him, I wonder if Phoebe saw these and was heading there, maybe looking for me

"Oh, yeah. I'll tell you what it is. It's a lie. Ain't no sanctuary for all. Ain't gonna welcome guys like you and me with open arms."

"So is that where we're headed?" I asked him

"So now you're asking?"

"That's right." I replied

"We were in a house minding our own business and this walking piece of fecal matter was hiding in the home. Strangled our colleague Lou and left him to turn. Lou came at all of us. He lit out. We tracked him to these tracks, one of those signs, and thus we've got a destination in mind."

"You see his face?" I asked

"Only Tony. That's enough for a reckoning." He says, "You married before all this Daryl?" He asked and I looked at him, "Couldn't help but notice your ring"

"No, after. I lost her" Wasn't a complete lie, I just didn't want to put her in danger by telling him the truth."

"Sorry to hear that. It's hard to find love nowadays is it?" He asked and I nodded

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

"Here" I tell Rick handing him the last bit of the rabbit I caught

"Aren't you hungry?"

"You're still healing, take it and be quiet" I tell him and he chuckled

"It's a good thing Daryl taught you this stuff" He says and I sat down giving a small smile, "Hey, don't lose hope. We'll find him"

"I know." I said and he finished it up

"That was one small rabbit"

"It was something" Michonne pointed out

"It traveled well. Sucker was harder to catch then normal" I add and they smile

"Have you noticed that's all we talk about anymore? Food. I forgot what this feels like." Rick says

"Me, too. I hope we're able to forget again soon." Michonne mentioned

"We're close. Just got to make it through another day. If folks there are taking people in, they have to be strong. They have to have a system." Rick said

"I wonder if the whole thing's legit." She says and I hear a branch snap and look into the woods but don't see anything

"We let people in." Rick tells her

"We did. So did the Governor."

"Yeah, it's always the same, isn't it? Don't get to know until we know. Maybe this place isn't even there anymore." Rick says and suddenly there's a gun pointed at his head then mine and Michonne's. Someone took my gun away and kicked Michonne's sword.

"Oh, dearie me. You screwed up, asshole. You hear me? You screwed up. Today is a day of reckoning, sir. Restitution. A balancing of the whole damn universe. shit, and I was thinking of turning in for the night on New Year's Eve. Now who's gonna count down the ball dropper with me, huh? Mississippi. Nine Mississippi. Eight Mississippi."

"Joe! Hold up." I hear someone say and I see Daryl run over, I looked at him, my heart leaped and I wanted to run over to him so badly but I couldn't, he looked at me but lightly shook his head

"You're stopping me on eight, Daryl."

"Just hold up." Daryl says again

"This is the guy that killed Lou, so we got nothing to talk about." Another guy told him,

"The thing about nowadays is we got nothing but time. Say your piece, Daryl." Joe says

"These people, you're gonna let 'em go. These are good people." He told him and glanced at me

"Now, I think Lou would disagree with you on that. I'll, of course, have to speak for him and all 'cause your friend here strangled him in a bathroom."

"You want blood, I get it." Daryl told him and put his crossbow down and dropped his knife which I noticed landed next to me but I didn't react, "Take it from me, man. Come on."

"This man killed our friend. You say he's good people. See, now that right there is a lie. It's a lie!" Joe yells and two men grabbed Daryl bringing him over to the car Carl was in and started beating on him, "Teach him, fellas. Teach him all the way." Joe says and another guy grabbed me pulling me away

"No!" I yelled as I struggled, I glanced over at Daryl's knife and tried to grab for it

"What are you reaching for there princess? Huh?" The man asked as he held me down but I stretched as hard as I could and finally grabbed

"This" I said and stabbed him under his jaw, he gagged above me then I pushed him to the ground as a shot went off and I see Rick go after Joe and Michonne took down the guy pointing the gun at her. I went over to the men beating Daryl and kicked one in the back of the knee and stabbed him in the head as well, the other one looked at me and I kicked him in the gut and did the same to him. I then stood there in shock and Daryl looked at me

"Phoebe?" He asked and I dropped the knife as he slowly got up and rushed over to me, "Phoebe" I collapsed into his arms and started crying, partly because of what I just did and the other because I found him, I finally found him

"I-I didn't..."

"Hey," He put his hands on my face, "Self defense" He told me and I nodded my head and he kissed my forehead

"I can't believe I found you" I told him as he held me to him

"Me too baby, me too"

* * *

I sat in the car with Michonne and Carl while he rested on Michonne's lap and I looked out the window seeing Daryl walk by then sat down, "You ok?" Michonne asked me

"I killed three men."

"To protect someone you love" She says and I smile

"That's what is keeping me from losing my mind right now" I tell her and look at Carl

* * *

We walked along the train tracks and Daryl held my hand, I looked at him and smiled, "You alright?" He asked me

"I am now" I tell him and he wrapped his arm around my shoulder pulling me to him

"Me too, I found you"

"I love you" I said and he kissed me

"I love you too"

"We're getting close." Daryl tells us as we see the sign for Terminus on the ground, "Be there before sundown."

"Now we head through the woods. We don't know who they are." Rick says

"All right." Daryl agreed and we make our way into the woods and come up on a fence seeing a train depot

"We all spread out, watch for a while, see what we see, and get ready. We all stay close." Rick says and I walk with Daryl

"Can I ask yo something?" I asked Daryl

"Of course"

"Did you know Rick sent my mom away?" I ask and he looked at me

"He told me after you, Hershel and Michonne went out to the woods"

I sighed and looked down fighting tears, "What if-what if she's.."

"Hey, she's fine, believe that. You found me, we'll find her" He reassured me and I kissed him

"I missed you"

"I missed you too, and I ain't ever going anywhere again, not without you" He tells me and I smile

"You better not"

* * *

We bury the bag Rick had with weapons in it and he looked at me and Daryl, "Just in case" He adds and we head over to the fence and climb over, I stayed by Daryl and we walked through the train yard with our weapons ready. We open a door leading into big room hearing a woman talk

"Terminus-those who arrive survive. Follow the tracks to the point where all lines intersect. There are maps at the crossings to help guide youwith your journey. Sanctuary for for all. Those who arrive survive. Terminus, sanctuary for all. Community for all..."

"Hello." Rick says and they all look at us

"Well, I bet Albert is on perimeter watch." A man says and walked towards us, "You here to rob us?"

"No. We wanted to see you before you saw us." Rick told him

"Makes sense. Usually we do this where the tracks meet. Ahem. Welcome to Terminus. I'm Gareth. Looks like you've been on the road for a good bit."

"We have. Rick. That's Carl, Dary, Phoebe, Michonne." Rick introduced

"You're nervous. I get it. We were all the same way. We came here for sanctuary. That what you're here for?" Gareth asked

"Yes."

"Good. You found it. Hey, Alex." Gareth called to another guy and he walked over, "This isn't as pretty as the front. We got nothing to hide, but welcome wagon is a whole lot nicer. Alex will take you, ask you a few questions. Uh, but first, we need to see everyone's weapons. If you could just lay them down in front of you." Gareth says and we hesitate

"All right." Rick tells him

"I'm sure you understand."

"Yes, I do." Rick tells him and I put my knife on the ground then my gun and we put our hands up as Alex came over and pat us down, I saw Daryl shift next to me as the guy patted me down

"I'd hate to see the other guy." He says to Daryl moving over to him

"You would." I told him

"They deserve it?" Alex asked Carl patting him down

"Yes." He replied

"Just so you know, we aren't those kind of people, but we aren't stupid either. And you shouldn't be stupid enough to try anything stupid. As long as everyone's clear on that, we shouldn't have any problems. Just solutions. Okay." Gareth says and Alex hands Michonne her sword and I grab my knife and gun then Daryl's hand

"Follow me." Alex says and we follow him

"So how long's this place been here?" Daryl asked him

"Since almost the start. When all the camps got overrun, people started finding this place. I think it was instinct, you know? Follow a path. Some folks were heading to the coast, others out west or up north, but they all wound up here." Alex answered and we walked up to a woman who was cooking some meat on the grill, I looked at Daryl with question, it didn't look like any kind of meat I've ever seen

"Hi. Heard you came in the back door. Smart. You'll fit right in here."

"Hey, Mary, would you fix each of these new folks a plate for me?" Alex asked her

"Why do you do it? Why do you let people in?" Michonne asked

"The more people become a part of us, we get stronger. That's why we put up the signs, invite people in. It's how we survive. Here." Alex says and handed Carl a plate hen Michonne.

I see Rick walk up to him and knock a plate out of his hands, reached in his pocket and grabbed a watch, Glenn's watch, "Where the hell did you get this watch?" Rick asked him putting his gun to Alex's head, Daryl raised his crossbow at the woman and I raised my gun up at the people who did the same, "Where the hell did you get this watch?"

"You want answers? You want anything else? You get 'em when you put down the gun." Alex said to Rick

"I see your man on the roof with a sniper rifle. How good's his aim? Where'd you get the watch? Where'd you get the watch?!"

"Don't do anything! I have this! You just put it down. You put it down! You want to listen to me. There's a lot of us."

"Where did you get the watch?" Rick asked again

"I got it off of a dead one. I didn't think he'd need it."

"What about the riot gear? The poncho?" Rick asked

"Got the riot gear off a dead cop. Found the poncho on a clothesline." Gareth says behind us and I turned to face him pointing my gun at him

"Gareth, we can wait."

"Shut up, Alex."

"You talk to me." Rick tells Gareth

"What's there left to say? You don't trust us anymore."

"Gareth." Alex says

"Shut up."

"Gareth, please." Alex begged

"It's okay. It's okay. Rick, what do you want?" Gareth asked him

"Where are our people?"

"You didn't answer the question." Gareth says and Rick threw Alex and people started shooting at us, we started to run in one direction but they shot at our feet and we doubled back, Daryl grabbed my hand keeping me by him as we head in another direction but they fired at our feet again and we ran another way into a building and started running for the door but someone shut it

"Here" Daryl called and tried a gate but it wouldn't open and Rick pointed to another door and we went through it then they fired at our feet again, I got stopped when shot hit by my feet and Daryl pulled me back and we switched directions

"Let us out! Help!" I hear from a container

"Keep going." Rick says and we went into another building

"What the hell is this place?" I asked looking around the room, it looked like a shrine

"These people, I don't think they're trying to kill us." Michonne mentioned

"No, they were aiming at our feet. There." Rick pointed to a door and we head to it but it shuts

"There." I said seeing another one and we went out it then as we did shots got fired in front of Daryl who grabbed my hand again, we head to the fence but men pop up and raise their guns at us and we stop

"Drop your weapons! Now!" Gareth yells down to us from the roof but we just stand there, "Now!" he yells and I set my gun drop then drop my knife as the others do too and I feel Daryl grab my hand, "Ringleader, go to your left. The train car, go." He tells Rick and we look at the train car, "You do what we say, the boy goes with you. Anything else, he dies and you end up in there anyway." He says and Rick walked over, "Now the archer." Gareth says and I look at Daryl, he squeezed my hand and followed him, "Now the samurai." Michonne followed Daryl, "Now the Wife" Gareth says and I looked at him confused, did he see my ring? I walked over and stood behind Michonne, "Stand at the door, ringleader, archer, samurai, wife in that order."

"My son." Rick tells him

"Go, kid. Ringleader, open the door and go in." Gareth ordered

"I'll go in with him."

"Don't make us kill him now." Gareth warned and Rick walked up the steps opening the door and we walked in, he pulled Carl to him and I moved to Daryl as he wrapped his arm around my waist and the door shuts

"Rick?" I hear someone ask then Glenn appeared, then Maggie, Sasha and Bob and 4 other people we didn't know

"You're here. You're here." Rick tells him and we look at the others

"They're our friends. They helped save us." Maggie told us

"Yeah. Now they're friends of ours." Daryl says

"For however long that'll be." The red headed guy said

"No." Rick says and walked over to the door, "They're gonna feel pretty stupid when they find out."

"Find out what?" The man asked him

"They're fucking with the wrong people"


	13. Chapter 13

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

"They seemed nice enough, but I was ready to go. We just got here, but, damn, it was time to go. When I told them about DC, a wink and a nod from the head asshole in charge, they pulled their guns and it was right back to our regularly scheduled shitstorm." Abraham says

"Before they put you in here, you didn't see Tyreese?" Sasha asked

"No." I told her

"Good."

"Black car with a white cross painted on it. I tried to follow it. I tried." Daryl says to Maggie about Beth

"But she's alive?"

"She's alive." He says

* * *

We all stood in the train car taking what we could and turning them into weapons, Daryl took off his belt and handed it to me, I nodded and used the train car floor to sharpen it

"All right, got four of them pricks coming our way." Daryl told us

"Y'all know what to do. Go for their eyes first. Then their throats." Rick says

"Put your backs to the walls on either side of the car now." Someone ordered then we hear foot steps on the roof as Daryl stood by me and it opens then we see a flash bang dropped in

"Move!" Abraham yelled and Daryl covered me as it goes off then the next thing I knew he was being pulled away from me

"No!" I yelled but someone held me back and I fought against them as the door shut and I went over to hit pounding on it and cried then Maggie came over and hugged me.

* * *

"What the hell is going on?" Abraham asked trying to look out the door after we hear an explosion

"Someone hit them. Maybe our people got free." Michonne mentioned

"Excuse me." Eugene says moving past Tara and Sasha

"What the hell are you doing?" Rosita asked him

"I might be able to use this shell to compromise the door. From the sound of things, there may not be anybody left to open it."

"Eugene, I'm sorry, but shut up." Tara tells him

"Hey. My dad's gonna be back." Carl reassured us, "They all are." He says looking at me

"They are. And we need to get ready to fight our way out with them when they do." Maggie adds putting her hand on my shoulder and I nodded then went back to work on sharpening the prongs of Daryl's belt

* * *

"What's the cure, Eugene?" Sasha asked him

"It's classified."

"We don't know what's gonna happen." Michonne mentioned

"You leave him be." Abraham told her

"We need to keep working." I said

"Yeah, but it's time to hear it. 'Cause we don't know what's coming next."

"What's next is we get out of this." Tara says

"Even if I told you all, even if I provided step-by-step instructions complete with illustrations and a well-composed FAQ and I went red-ring, the cure would still die with me."

"I'm not gonna let that happen." Abraham told him

"The best-case scenario, we step out into a hellstorm of bullets, fire, and walkers. I'm not fleet of foot. I sure as hell can't take a dead one down with sharp buttons and hella confidence."

"Yeah, but we can and we will." Michonne tells him

"You don't owe us anything. Not yet. But we just want to hear it." Sasha told him

"You don't have to." Rosita said and Eugene stood up

"I was part of a 10-person team at the Human Genome Project to weaponize diseases to fight weaponized diseases. Pathogenic microorganisms with pathogenic microorganisms. Fire with fire. Interdepartmental drinks were had, relationships made, information shared. I am keenly aware of all the details behind fail-safe delivery systems to kill every living person on this planet. I believe with a little tweaking on the terminals in DC, we can flip the script. Take out every last dead one of them. Fire with fire. All things being equal, it does sound pretty badass."

"So let's get back to work." Maggie tells us

We hear a banging on the door and got ready but it opened up and we saw Rick there with a gun, "Come on! Fight to the fence!" He says and I ran out up to Daryl who grabbed me then handed me a knife and we proceeded on killing walkers

"Do not leave his side!" Abraham ordered the others

"Up and over." Rosita tells us and we move to the fence, everybody went over and Daryl helped me over then I waited there for him and he grabbed my hand as we made our way back to the spot we hid the guns

"Right here." Daryl tells him and tossed the shovel to Rick who started digging and I hugged Daryl who kissed my head

"The hell are we still around here for?" Abraham asked Rick

"Guns, some supplies. Go along the fences. Use the rifles. Take out the rest of 'em.

"What?" Glenn asked him

"They don't get to live."

"Rick, we got out. It's over." I added

"It's not over till they're all dead."

"The hell it isn't. That place is on fire. Full of walkers." Rosita told him

"I'm not dicking around with this crap. We just made it out."

"The fences are down. They'll run or die." Maggie said and I glanced over Daryl's shoulder and saw someone walk towards us

"Mom!" I yelled and ran over to her, we hugged each other and I cried then Daryl came over and hugged her as well. She put her hands on my face and kissed my hand then I hugged her again as Rick walked over

"Did you do that?" He asked her and she gave a small nod then hugged him, "You have to come with me." She told him and we walked with her, I hand my arm through hers as we got to a cabin and I saw Tyreese walk out the door holding Judith, Rick dropped his stuff and ran over with Carl and Sasha ran over as well. Rick grabbed Judith and hugged her while crying then Sasha hugged Tyreese, I looked at my mom and smiled at her which she returned and I laid my head on her shoulder then Daryl grabbed my hand. We found our family and I'll be damned if I let them go again. My mom nudged me and I looked at her then she handed me my gun and I smiled

* * *

I walked over to Rick and smiled at Judith, he looked at me and silently asked if I wanted to hold her, I nodded and he put her in my arms, "Hey you. How are you doing little ass kicker?" I asked her and smiled at Daryl then kissed her head and handed her back to Rick and moved over to Daryl, he pulled me into a hug and I nuzzled my face into his chest.

"I don't know if the fire is still burning." Rick pointed out looking at the smoke from Terminus

"It is." Carol answered

"Yeah. We need to go."

"Yeah, but where?" Daryl asked him

"Somewhere far away from there."

We started walking on the tracks, Daryl was holding my hand then lifted it up and kissed it, I smiled at him and we made our way into the woods.

* * *

When we stopped to rest I was sitting next to Daryl leaning my head on his shoulder then I feel him shift and I looked at him as he reached into his pocket, "I almost forgot about this," He says and faced me, "Found it when I was at a dumb golf resort with Beth, figured you could and it to the other one." He says and showed me a wedding band, I smiled at him as he put it on then kissed it

"I love you"

"I love you too" He told me and I looked at my mom

"I'll be right back," I said and stood up walking over to her, "Hey" she turned and faced me and I hugged her again, "I was so scared that I lost you...again" I tell her and she looked at me, "Rick told me what happened at the prison." I say to her and she looked down, "Why mom?"

"I couldn't risk anyone else getting sick, but it didn't work" She told me and I grabbed her hand

"I want you to know that I'm not mad, but please don't hide anything from me, I feel like your slipping and I want to be there to catch you" I tell her and she pulled me into a hug

"I thought I was suppose to be the parent" She says and I chuckled

"Quick acting like a child then" I said with a smirk and she scoffed

"Whatever" She tells me and I laugh

* * *

 **Daryl POV..**

Me and Carol sat by a tree that night keeping watch and I looked over at her, I don't want to talk about it. I can't. I just need to forget it." She tells me

"All right." I looked over at Phoebe who was laying on the ground asleep and I smiled

"Where did you find her?" Carol asked me

"After I lost Beth I ended up with some guys, bad guys, I didn't know they were until one night when I hung back from them cause I was gonna slip away, but I saw Rick, Michonne and Phoebe sitting in the road when the leader pointed a gun at Rick, I tried to talk him into letting them go but he refused and two men started to beat me up and another grabbed..." I paused and looked over at Phoebe again, "I had dropped my knife by her without them knowing, she killed the guy that grabbed her then the two that were attacking me" I told her and she put her head down, "I didn't want her to have to do that but I also couldn't sit there and watch what was gonna happen to her." I said and she was gonna say something but we hear a twig snap and we both stood up, I moved forward keeping my hand up telling her to stay back and looked into the darkness but didn't see anything, "It's nothing."

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

Wanna come with me?" Daryl asked and I nodded my head

As we walked through the woods hunting for something to eat Daryl stopped me and I looked at him, he put his hand on my face and kissed me, I moaned into his mouth as it deepened while he backed me up against a tree. He set his crossbow down then gripped my thighs lifting me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist while he played with the bottom of my shirt, "I don't think this is the right time for this" I said to him but he kissed my neck and I bit my lip

"Can't help it. I want you" He says in my ear then proceeded to undo my pants and I did the same to him. After I pushed his down slightly he pushed into me and started to pick up the pace gripping my thighs as I gripped his shoulders

"Oh god" I moaned leaning my head back and he kissed it again then lightly bit it picking up the pace more, "Daryl!" I silently screamed

"Oh Phoebe" He grunted making noises like an animal in heat and it was hot as hell, "Are you ready?" He growled in my ear and I bit my lip as it sent tingles down my whole body, "Finish for me baby" He grunted and I let go digging my nails into his shoulder and he kissed me at the same time I moaned a little louder then I wanted to in his mouth. He pushed into me a few more times then finished as well, he laid his head on my collarbone while we tried to catch our breath

After we straightened ourselves up, got a few squirrels, we headed back to the others and we see them raise their guns at us so we raised our hands, "We surrender" Daryl told them and walked up to Rick as I walked over to my mom who looked at me with a smirk

"Shush"

I hear Rick whistle to all of us and I looked at him, "Keep close"

My mom walked ahead and I walked next to Rosita and Abraham, "We haven't really had time to get know each other with the whole running for our lives thing" I tell them and they smile

"Introductions do kind of get put on hold when it's life or death" Rosita says with a smile, "Phoebe right?"

"Mmhm Phoebe Dixon, that's my husband Daryl up there" I indicated to him

"Were you two married before or after all this?"

"After. We knew each other since the beginning, I was the only person he really even talked to." I told her

"And Carol is your mom?"

"Yep. I knew Rick before the beginning because we were in the same Sheriff's department so I kind of knew Carl since he was younger" I said

"So you, your mom, Rick, Carol, Glenn, Carl and Daryl are the only one's left from your first group?" She asked me

"Mmhmm"

"What happened to the others?" She asks

"Lots of things, to much to get into right now." I said and Daryl looked back at me, I smiled and he looked forward, "How did you two meet?"

"I was part of another group in Texas when we ran into Abraham and Eugene. Abraham was impressed with my survival skills" She says

"Among other things" He adds and she smacked his arm

"He told me what he was doing so I decided to join them."

"And what a journey it's been" He says and they smiled at each other

"What branch of the military were you in Abraham?" I asked him

"U.S Army ma'am"

"Cool, well thank you and thanks for helping Glenn" I told him and he nodded, just then we hear someone screaming

"Help! Anybody, help!"

"Dad come on," Carl told him and Rick looked at us, "Come on, come on" He persisted and we ran following the guys voice.

We came up on a man on top of a giant rock with a few walkers reaching for him, Carl shoots one while Rick, me and Michonne get the others. Just then I hear a walker come up next to me but Daryl shot it and I looked at him.

"We're clear. Keep watch." Rick tells us then looked at the guy, "Come on down." He said and the guy climbed down, "You okay?" Rick asked him and the man held up his finger then threw up, I turned and looked away, walker guts I can somewhat handle, people throwing up though, nope.

"Sorry. Yes. Thank you. I'm Gabriel."

"Do you have any weapons on you?" Rick asked him

"Do I look like I would have any weapons?"

"We don't give two short and curlies what it looks like." Abraham tells him

"I have no weapons of any kind. The word of God is the only protection I need."

"Oh geez" I groaned quietly and my mom nudged me, I looked at her then back at Gabriel

"Sure didn't look like it." Daryl pointed out

"I called for help. Help came. Do you have- have any food? Whatever I- I had left, it just hit the ground."

"We've got some pecans." Carl told him handing him some

"Thank you." He says and Judith coo'd, "That's a beautiful child." He tells us and I walked over to Tyreese taking her from him and backed up with her, she may not be mine but I'll protect her like she is, "Do you have a camp?" He asked

"No. Do you?" Rick asked him

"I have a church."

"Hold your hands above your head." Rick tells him and he does so, "How many walkers have you killed?" Rick asked patting him down

"Not any, actually."

"Turn around." Rick ordered and he does, "How many people have you killed?"

"None."

"Why?" Rick asked

"Because the Lord abhors violence."

"What have you done? We've all done something." Rick says

"I'm a sinner. I sin almost every day. But those sins, I confess them to God, not strangers."

"You said you had a church?" Michonne asked him

* * *

"Hey, earlier, were you watching us?" Rick asked him

"I keep to myself. Nowadays, people are just as dangerous as the dead, don't you think?"

"No, people are worse." Daryl says

"Well, I wasn't watching you. I haven't been beyond the stream near my church more than a few times since it all started. That was the furthest I've gone before today. Or maybe I'm lying. Maybe I'm lying about everything and there's no church ahead at all. Maybe I'm leading you into a trap so I can steal all your squirrels." He joked but we all looked at him unamused, "Members of my flock had often told me that my sense of humor leaves much to be desired."

"Yeah, it does." Daryl says and we arrive at the church, Gabriel headed up the steps and was about to unlock the door when Rick stopped him

"Hold up. Can we take a look around first? We just want to hold on to our squirrels." He says and I had Judith to Carl then grab my gun aiming it as Rick opened the door. We walked in and looked around. Michonne, my mom and Glenn walked into another room and I stood there looking at a painting lost in my thoughts when I turned around and bumped into someone causing me to jump, I look and see Daryl standing there with a smirk on his face and I smacked his chest then we headed back outside with the others

"I spent months here without stepping out the front door. If you found someone inside, well, it would have been surprising." Gabriel told us

"Thanks for this." Carl says to him

"We found a short bus out back. It don't run, but I bet we could fix that in less than a day or two. Father here says he doesn't want it. Looks like we found ourselves some transport. You understand what's at stake here, right?" Abraham asked Rick

"Yes, I do."

"Now that we can take a breath-" Michonne says

"We take a breath, we slow down, shit inevitably goes down." Abraham cut her off

"We need supplies no matter what we do next." Michonne tells him

"That's right. Water, food, ammunition." Rick adds and headed inside

"Short bus ain't going nowhere. Bring you back some baked beans." Daryl tells him and we followed Rick

"How'd you survive here for so long? Where did your supplies come from?" Rick asked Gabriel

"Luck. Our annual canned food drive. Things fell apart right after we finished it. It was just me."

"Come here, Judith." I said taking her from Rick and walked away

"The food lasted a long time. And then I started scavenging. I've cleaned out every place nearby. Except for one." Gabriel says

"What kept you from it?" Rick asked him

"It's overrun."

"How many?" Rick asked

"A dozen or so. Maybe more."

"We can handle a dozen." Rick told him

"Bob and I will go with you. Tyreese should stay here, help keep Judith safe." Sasha says to Rick

"That'll be okay?" He asked Tyreese

"Sure. You ever need me to watch her, need anything for her, I'm right here."

"I'm grateful for it. And everything else." Rick tells him

"I'll draw you a map." Gabriel says

"You don't need to. You're coming with us."

"I'm not gonna be of any help. You saw me. I'm no good around those things." Gabriel defended

"You're coming with us."

* * *

"Hey, I get it. You don't want to talk about it." Daryl says to my mom as we walk back from the stream getting water

"You okay?" I asked her

"Gotta be."

"We get to start over. All of us with each other. You saved us all by yourself." He tells her

"We got lucky. We all should be dead." She says and we see a car up ahead, "I'll check it." She says walking ahead of us and Daryl looked at me

"Are you ok?" He asked

"I'm just worried about her, she just doesn't seem like herself anymore"

"Hey, it'll be ok, we'll help her as much as we can" He says and we walk up to the car, "Hey. We ain't dead. And whatever happened, happened. Let's start over." He tells her

"I want to."

"Well, you can." I said

"We should leave this here for backup in case things go south at the church." She pointed out to us closing the trunk and bent to grab her jugs of water

"Want me to carry one of those?" Daryl asked her lifting his arm up but dropped the one he was holding, me and her tried to hold back a smile

"No." She tells him and he bent over picking it up as she walked away and I chuckled

"Keep laughing and I'll pour this on you" He told me and I smiled

"Yeah but then you would have to help me out of my wet close" I said with a wink and started to walk away

He caught up to me and bent to my ear, "I wouldn't mind that"

I looked at him and smirked, "Down boy" I tell him and we walked back to the church

* * *

We all gathered around in the church talking and laughing while we ate, I was sitting next to Daryl who took a piece of food off my plate, I looked at him with a glare and he kissed my temple then I took a piece off his plate and ate it with a smirk

"I'd like to propose a toast." Abraham says and we all stop talking and look at him, "I look around this room... and I see survivors. Each and every one of you has earned that title. To the survivors." He raised his glass

"Survivors!" Everyone cheered and I looked at my mom

"Is that all you want to be? Wake up in the morning, fight the undead pricks, forage for food, go to sleep at night with two eyes open, rinse and repeat? 'Cause you can do that. I mean, you got the strength. You got the skill. Thing is, for you people, for what you can do, that's just surrender. Now, we get Eugene to Washington and he will make the dead die and the living will have this world again. And that is not a bad takeaway for a little road trip." He adds and Daryl grabbed my hand giving it a squeeze, "Eugene, what's in DC?" He asked him

"Infrastructure constructed to withstand pandemics even of this fubar magnitude. That means food, fuel, refuge. Restart."

"However this plays out, however long it takes for the reset button to kick in, you can be safe there. Safer than you've been since this whole thing started. Come with us. Save the world for that little one. Save it for yourselves. Save it for the people out there... who don't got nothing left to do except survive." Abraham says and Judith coo'd

"What was that?" Rick asked her, "I think she knows what I'm about to say. She's in. If she's in, I'm in. We're in." Rick says and everyone clapped. I looked at my mom again and saw her walk out of the church, I nudged Daryl and we followed her.

We see her kill a walker then look at us, "What are you doing?" I asked her

"I don't know."

"You're just gonna leave? After I just found you?" I asked her and she looked at me about to say something then we hear a car approach, we ducked behind the one we found then Daryl ran out to the road and ran back taking the stock of his crossbow and smashed the tail lights

"Whoa, whoa! What are you doing? What are you doing?" My mom asked him

"They got Beth. Come on. Come on, get in." He tells us and we get in then he drives following the car.

* * *

"So it was just you and Beth after?" My mom asked Daryl from the drivers seat

"Yeah."

"You save her?" I asked him

"She's tough. She saved herself. We were out there for a while. We got cornered, she got out in front of me and...I don't know, she was gone. I came out and a car's pulling out with a white cross on the window."

"Just like that one?" She asked

"Yep. Rick's gonna wonder where we went. Tank's runnin' low."

"We can end this quick. Just run him off the road." My mom says and I looked at her

"Nah, we're good for a bit."

"If they're holding her somewhere, we can get it out of the driver." She pointed out

"Yeah, but if he don't talk, we're back to square one. Right now we got the advantage. We'll see who they are. If they're a group, see what they can do. And then we'll do what we gotta do to get her back."

"They're heading north, I-85." I tell him from the middle of the back seat

We stopped a ways back from there we were and watched, "What the hell's he waiting for?" Daryl asked then someone gets of the passenger side, "There's two of 'em."

"Is that a cop?" I asked seeing the person in a uniform

"They might've seen us." My mom says and suddenly a walker hits her window and we jumped

"Jesus" I whispered trying to calm my heart, I look out the front and see the people heading back and one stopped then looked in our direction, then he gets in and they drove off. Daryl went to start the car but it just sputters

"Aw, shit! Tank's tapped. They'd have taken the bypass and they didn't. They must be holed up in the city somewhere." He says and we hear walkers moaning from up ahead

"We gotta move, find someplace to hole up till sunlight." I point out

"I know a place just a couple of blocks from here. We can make it." She says rolling down her window and stabbed the walker

* * *

"Two more." My mom says as Daryl worked on opening the door

"I almost got it." He says and my mom moved away then he gets it opened

"Come on." I tell her and we head inside, then once we got in I looked around, I recognized the place instantly

"You used to work here or something?" He asked her

"Something."

Daryl looked at me and must have noticed the look on my face, "What's this place?" He asked

"It's temporary housing." I answered looking at my mom

"You came here?" He asked my mom as we enter a room with a bunk bed

"We didn't stay." She says and I looked down, "I'll take the top bunk. I think that one's more your style." She tells us, "No fooling around." She said and I gave a small smile, "You should sleep. I'll take first watch."

"This is locked up pretty tight." Daryl told her

"I know."

"Then we're good, then." He says and I sat down on the bottom bed

"I'll keep first watch. I don't mind."

"Suit yourself." He told her and sat next to me then laid down pulling me with him

"You said we get to start over." My mom says

"Yeah."

"Did you?" She asked him

"I'm tryin'." He answered and looked at me, I smiled at him, "Why don't you say what's really on your mind?" He asked her

"I don't think we get to save people anymore."

"Then why are you here?" He asked her

"I'm tryin', Trying for you and Phoebe." She says

"When we were out by the car... what if we didn't show up?" I asked her

"I still don't know." She says and then we hear a distant banging. We get up and walk out to a set of doors seeing a walker bang on the glass, then another one appear, a child, I felt my heart twist with pain as I held back a few tears and my mom moved forward

"You don't have to. You don't." He said stopping her and she walked away, he looked at me and I shook my head following her, I will never be over the death of my sister and seeing children walkers, it made it hurt even more

"Mom," I said walking into the room, "Why here?"

She looked at me and sighed, "I guess I just needed a reminder that I'm still human" She tells me and I walk over to her pulling her into a hug

"You are, I won't let you lose yourself, not again" I said and she tightened the hug, "I love you mom"

"I love you too sweetie"

* * *

The next morning me and my mom woke up and saw smoke coming from the the roof, I noticed Daryl wasn't next to me so we got up and headed out of the room and saw a fire on the roof, we walked outside as he carried the body of the kid walker placing it in the fire.

"Thank you." My mom tells him and I grabbed his hand, he leaned over and kissed my head

* * *

"That car was headed downtown." Daryl says as we gather up our stuff, "I say we get up in one of the tall ones, get ourselves a view, see what we see."

"Stay close to the buildings and keep quiet, but sooner or later, we're gonna be drawing 'em." My mom added and we headed out

We stood behind a building hiding from the walkers that were on the street, "All right, we can get up there. There's a bridge." Daryl says taking his bag off setting it down and then reached inside pulling out a notepad then handed me his crossbow. He lit the notepad on fire and threw it into the street attracting the walkers, I handed him his crossbow then we moved making our way to the bridge. We see tents and sleeping bags in the hallway of it, "Some days, I don't know what the hell to think." He says and we walk through the walkers that were trapped in the tents and sleeping bags. I get to the door and there's a chain on it so we had to crawl through, my mom put her bag and gun through first then crawled through while Daryl held the door then he motioned for me to go, once I got up I pushed it open for him grabbing his crossbow for him, "Good thing we skipped breakfast." He says and I chuckled

"Tell that to my stomach" I said and he got up grabbing his crossbow then putting his hand on my arm and we walked to a set of doors, he opened them as me and my mom hung back then whistled at us and we walked into an office walking up to the window and looked out the window at the burned city below us

"How did we get here?" My mom asked and I wrapped my arm around her shoulder

"Mm-mm. We just did." Daryl told her

"You still haven't asked me what happened. After I met up with Tyreese, the girls."

"Yeah, I know what happened. They ain't here." He pointed out

"It was worse than that."

"The reason I said we get to start over...is because we gotta. The way it was..." Daryl started to say

"Yeah." My mom says and I see him look out the window

"You see something?" I asked him

"I don't know. Hand me that rifle." He says and my mom hands it to him and he handed me the crossbow, "Right there." He pointed and I looked through the scope then my mom did looking at what he saw

"It's been there a while. Definitely one of 'em." My mom pointed out

"It's definitely some kind of lead." Daryl added

"We should fill up." My mom says and grabbed a bottle out her bag then the one out of mine filling them up at the water cooler and I see Daryl look at the painting on the wall, I walked over and leaned my chin on his shoulder

"What?" I asked him

"I bet this cost some rich prick a lot of money. Looks like a dog sat in paint, wiped its ass all over the place." He gestured and I laughed nudging his shoulder with mine as my mom turned to look

"Really? I kinda like it." My mom tells him

"Stop."

"I'm serious. You don't know me." She says

"Yep, you keep tellin' yourself that." He replied and they looked at me

"I'm with Daryl on this one" I said and she rolled her eyes smiling. Daryl kissed me quick and we headed back to the door, my mom went first again putting her rifle through then I followed seeing a kid holding her rifle up at her and I drew my gun as Daryl came through

"Daryl, Phoebe don't." She tells us

"Get up. Hands up, both of you." He says to me and Daryl, I continued pointing my gun at him, "Gun down," He say and I looked at my mom then put it down, "Lay down your crossbow." He says to Daryl

"You got some sack on you." Daryl tells him

"Look, nobody has to get hurt. I just need weapons, that's it. So, please, lay down your crossbow." He says and Daryl put it down, "Back up." He told us and we moved back grabbing my gun and Daryl's crossbow, "Sorry about this. You look tough. You'll be all right." He says grabbing his knife then cut one of the tents open running away, Daryl grabbed his knife and killed one walker that came out and I killed the other, I see my mom raise her gun and was about to shoot the kid but I moved her hands down, she looked at me and we followed him, we heard the door shut but as we got to it we couldn't open it so we looked for another exit

* * *

"Three bullets." My mom pointed out, "We're in the middle of a city. He was stealing our weapons. Did you think I was gonna kill him? I was aiming for his leg. Could that have killed him? Maybe, I don't know. But he was stealing our weapons."

"He's just a kid." I tell her while Daryl tired to open a door with his knife

"Without weapons we could die. Beth could die."

"We'll find more weapons." I said

"I don't want you to die." She tells me, "Or you," She says to Daryl, "I don't want Beth to die. I don't want anybody at the church to die, but I can't stand around and watch it happen either. I can't. That's why I left. I just had to be somewhere else."

"Well, you ain't somewhere else; you're right here. Tryin', for your daughter." He says to her and she looked at me

"Look, you're not who you were and neither am I or you for that matter Phoebe." I looked down as Dayl got the door open, it was true, I had changed, but I was trying to hold onto my old self as much as I could, "I don't know if I believe in God anymore or heaven, but if I'm going to hell, I'm making damn sure I'm holding it off as long as I can." She says grabbing her bag and stuff fell out of it, I see a book and picked it up then looked at her as she grabbed it from me, I shook my head and followed Daryl through the door

* * *

"All right, let's get this done." Daryl says as we walked up to the van that was balancing on the bridge and he opened the doors carefully

"It's not stable. I'm lighter." I mentioned and he shook his head, "Daryl, we don't have time to argue" I tell him and I could see him mentally argue with himself then got in himself, I rolled my eyes at him then me and my mom see walkers coming our way so she gets in then I follow, she moved forward and I stayed in the back to at least try and keep it balanced as they looked around the front

"There's more coming. We're gonna have to fight through." my mom says

"Yeah, I see 'em." Daryl added then walked over flipping a gurney

"We have to go." My mom told him

"GMH, what's that? A hospital?" He asked and I recognized it

"Grady Memorial, I know where it is" I told him

"Grady, the white crosses- it might be where they're holing up."

We get out of the van and my mom shoots a walker then both me and Daryl stabbed two more

"Daryl!" I yelled as more came, to many for us to fight

"Go, go, go, go!" He tells us and helped me in after my mom then killed another one and got in as well closing the doors as the walkers banged on them

"Anything we can use?" My mom asked

"Nothin' but what we got." He says and slowly made his way up front then I followed and he pulled me into his seat and my mom got in the passenger one, "All right, buckle up." He told her and put the buckle over both of us, "You hold on." He says to me wrapping his arms around my body as the van started to shake, I grabbed my mom's hand as the van fell, I closed my eyes waiting for the impact while Daryl covered my head puling me to him then the next thing I knew we crashed into the ground. Daryl groaned as we lifted our heads up from the air bag and I looked over at my mom

"Mom?" I asked her

"I'm okay. We're okay." She answered then suddenly walkers started dropping down on us then we got out

Daryl pulled me to him looking me over, "I'm okay," He looked at my head and I flinched as he touched a sore spot, "Daryl," I said and he looked at me, "I'm okay" I told him and he kissed me then we walked over to my mom and I saw her holding her shoulder, "What is it?" I asked her

"Just my shoulder" She says and I lightly felt it

"It's not broken, but it's probably dislocated" I point out and Daryl supported her as we walked

* * *

"Here." Daryl handed her the canteen

"I'm fine."

"Prove it." He says and she took it, "How bad is it?" He asked me

"Like I said, most likely dislocated but I don't want to try and set it because I could make it worse

"I've had worse." She says and I carefully pulled her shirt aside seeing a huge bruise on her shoulder

"Damn, that was stupid." Daryl said

"We made good time down." I told him, "There's only three blocks between us and Grady."

"We need to find a place nearby, scope it out, see what we can see." Daryl pointed out

"You really think we're gonna find out what we need to know just by watching?" My mom asked him

"It's where we start. Come on."

* * *

"It's them." I said as I looked out the window of another office building we went into and Daryl walked over to me with a bag full of small bags of chips

"All right. Let's see what we see." He says handing me and my mom a bag and we opened them and started eating, "You said I ain't like how I was before?" Daryl asked her

"Yeah."

"How was I?" He asked

"It's like you were a kid. Now you're a man, a husband." She says and I smiled at Daryl

"What about you?" He asked her and she looked at me

"Me and Sophia stayed at that shelter for a day and a half before I went running back to Ed." She says and I walked away to the other window, "I went home, I got beat up, life went on, and I just kept praying for something to happen, Phoebe wasn't to happy about it."

"Because I drove you both there and told you to stay until I could get things set up and you left. He's lucky I wasn't home or I would have shot him" I said looking at her then out the window

"But I didn't do anything. Not a damn thing. Who I was with him... she got burned away. And I was happy about that. I mean, not happy, but... And at the prison I got to be who I always thought I should be, thought I should've been. And then she got burned away. Everything now just... consumes you." She says and I wiped a tear away, my mom is slowly losing herself and it broke my heart

"Well, hey... we ain't ashes." Daryl told her and we hear a door close in the distance and followed it. We came up on a walker with a bolt through it's neck

"Is that yours?" I asked him and he killed the walker then pulled it out

"Yeah."

We hear gunfire then moved down the halls seeing the kid that took our weapons trying to fight a walker he moves away from it and it went towards my mom but before she could grab her knife it fell on her and I quickly killed it then we helped her up

"I'm good. I'm good. You go." She says and Daryl took off while I helped her up and we followed

I see Daryl stand up as the shelf fell on the kid, "Plea- please. I had to protect myself."

"Why you followin' us?" Daryl asked him

"I-I didn't, I swear! I thought you followed me."

"Bullshit." I said as a walker pushed on the door trying to get through and I see Daryl pick up a carton of cigaretts grabbing a pack out

"Come on. Plea- please! Please, please."

"Nah, I already helped you once. It ain't happenin' again." He says liking a cigarette, it never really bothered me that he smoked, "Have fun with Hoss over there." He says and started to walk away

"Noah: No. No, no, no. No. No, no, no! Please! Please! Please! I'm sorry, please! Please! Please, please!"

"Daryl. Daryl. Stop." My mom told him

"You almost died 'cause of him!"

"But I didn't." She pointed out

"Nah, let him be." He says and walked away

"I'm sorry. Please, I'm sorry!"

"Daryl!" I called after him but he kept walking I looked at my mom as the walker came through the door and just as I was about to move to kill it a bolt hit it in the head and I turned to see Daryl standing there, my mom goes and pulled the walker off the shelf, Daryl lifted it up at the top and I helped the kid get out

"Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

"You okay?" I asked my mom

"I'm still here."

"I gotta go. I gotta go. They're gonna come. They probably heard the shot. If they find me..." The kid says walking away from the window

"Who?" I asked him

"Them, people at the hospital."

"Wait, wait, wait, just tell us- is there a blonde girl there? You see a blonde girl?" Daryl asked stopping him

"Beth?"

"You know her?" I asked him

"She helped me get out, but she's still there."

"They're coming." My mom said from the window

"We gotta go now. We gotta go. We gotta go." The kid said walking away and we followed him, "The building next door has a basement. It's clear. We'll be safe." He tells us but then fell down, "Ah! Ah!"

"Go, I got him." He says to my mom as me and him help the kid stand up, "Come on, get up. Get up." Daryl told him and we started walking again

As we get to the door I see my mom get hit by a car, "Mom!" I yelled but the kid pulled me and Daryl behind another pillar

"No, no, no! Wait, wait, wait!"

"Let go of me!" I tell him

"Wait! They can help her. They're the only ones who can. They have medicine, machines, a doctor. You go out there, you'll have to kill them, okay? And then she can't get their help. Is that what you want?" He asked and I looked at him then saw the two people put my mom on a gurney then brought her to the back of the vehicle, Daryl held my arm and I looked at him, "We can get her back. We can get Beth back."

"What's it gonna take?" I asked him

"A lot. They got guns, people."

I looked at Daryl again and he nodded, "So do we."


	14. Chapter 14

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

After we got back to the group at the church we get told that Maggie, Glenn, Tara, Eugene, Rosita and Abraham left to head to DC, and that Bob got bit at the food shelf then the survivors of Terminus got him but he died. I stood there and watched Sasha cut up some pews with an axe and I looked at Daryl.

"It was- it was good you weren't here for it." Tyreese told me and Daryl as he handed us pipes from the organ

"She hanging in there?" Daryl asked him

"No."

I looked over at Sasha then looked at Daryl, "I don't blame her" I said and Daryl looked at me then I walked out of the church with Daryl behind me and we set the pipes down

"Are you gonna take the cross too?" He asked us

"If we need it" Daryl told him sticking one of the pipes into the ground and I looked at Gabriel

"I know this hard, but this is how we protect ourselves"

"It's just..this is God's house" He says and I looked at him

"God's home is in your heart, not a building" I told him, I never believed in God but I figured I would try and make this better for him

"Thank you" He says and I nod my head then walked back inside.

* * *

We sat in the back of the truck Daryl drove back to the church and I leaned my head on Daryl's shoulder, "We'll get her."

"We'll get both of them" I reassured him and he kissed my head then held my hand

* * *

"At sundown we fire a shot into the air. Get two of them out on patrol. Then once it's dark enough that the rooftop spotter won't see us, we go. We cut the locks on one of the stairways, take it to the fifth floor. I open the door, Daryl takes the guard out." Rick tells us as we gather in an abandoned building

"How?" I asked him

"He slits his throat. This is all about us doing this quiet, keeping the upper hand. They're not expecting us. From there, we fan out. Knives and silenced weapons. We need to be fast. Tyreese, Sasha, take them. Daryl, Phoebe, you take care of whoever is in the kitchen. I got Dawn. If they're smart, the rest of them will give up. Then it'll be five on three. Six on three once we get a weapon to Beth."

"12 on three. The wards will help." Noah tells him

"That's best case. What's worst case?" Tyreese asked, "All it takes is one of those cops going down the hall at the wrong time. Then it's not quiet. All hands on deck. We're talking about a lot of bullets flying around."

"If that's what it takes." Sasha says

"It's not. If we get a couple of her cops alive out here, we do an even trade. Theirs for ours. Everybody goes home." Tyreese pointed out

"Yeah, I get it. And it might work. This will work." Rick tells him

Daryl looked at me and I sighed, "Nah, that'll work, too. You say this Dawn, she's just trying to keep it together, right?" He asked Noah

"Trying and doing are two different things."

"You take two of her cops away, what choices does she have? Everybody goes home. Like he says." Daryl says to Rick and I nod

* * *

As we stood there waiting for Noah to lead a couple of the cops to us Daryl put his hand on my shoulder, "You sure you wanna do this?"

"It's my mom and Beth, I'd do anything." I tell him and he gave my shoulder a squeeze then we hear the car approach and we made our way over

"Where are those rotters you were shooting at?" One of the cops asked and Rick whistled at them while we walked up with our guns raised

"Hands."

"What do you want?" The female asked

"Whatever this is, we can help." The other pointed out

"You do what we say, we don't hurt you." Rick tells them and they lower their weapons, "Good. Now turn around." Rick ordered, "Put your guns on the floor and kneel." They do so then Daryl and Sasha move over, Daryl takes their guns then Sasha hands him a zip tie, "We need to talk. There's water if you need some and food."

"Mind if I ask you something? The way you talk... the way you carry yourself... were you a cop?" The male cop asked Rick and I looked at him then back at the cop, "Believe it or not, I was, too."

"That's Lamson. He'll be down for this. He's one of the good ones." Noah tells both of us then suddenly a car approaches us and Daryl fires his gun at it then Rick and I do, the car got closer and Daryl pulled me out of the way then Tyreese shoots out the windows. The two that we had taken hopped in the back and we continued firing then they drive away, Sasha walked forward and hit the back tire then we ran after it

Rick stops us as we round the corner seeing what looked like skinned walkers on the ground and the car was empty and we moved forward then see the two cops run, "Two, on me" Rick tells us and we run after them but then I noticed Daryl wasn't behind us so I ran back and Daryl hitting the guy with a walker skull, as he got off him I shot the walker Daryl was by and the cop looked at me.

"Get the fuck away from my husband" I tell him pointing my gun at him and he looked at me

"Okay, you win" He says and slowly stood up but I kept my gun trained on him

"Phoebe, Phoebe" I hear Daryl say but I didn't move, "Phoebe, three's better then two" He says moving behind the guy and I lower my gun then Daryl zip tied his hands

* * *

We walked into the abandoned building we were hiding in with the three cops, "Your friend, what's his name? I need to talk to him. Your plan is going to get me and my friends killed." THe female says

"We're gonna make it work." Sasha tells her

"It would work if you had different cops to trade. Dawn's running Grady into the ground. A bunch of us want her out and she knows it. Pretty sure she knows we want Lamson to replace her, too."

"Dawn doesn't know that." Lamson tells her

"She might. And she's smart. So there's a good chance you can't make this deal work and that'll leave us all dead. But if you let us go, we'll take care of Dawn ourselves and then we'll let your friends go and this is over."

"No, we're not gonna do that." The other male one says

"Do you want to die?" She asked him

"No. I just need you to shut up right now. You can make this work. But you've got to be able to talk to her."

"Noah told us all about her." I tell him

"I've known her for eight years, ma'am. I know this woman. And my only interest is peaceful resolution, not dying, and sleeping in my bed tonight. So, please, let me help you. Please."

"Hey, Rick. You're gonna want to hear this." Daryl calls to him

* * *

"She'll tell you she won't make a deal. She'll tell you she won't compromise. But she will. She always does. Just- just know who you're talking to." Lamson says to Rick

"Probably heading out in the next 10 minutes or so. Anything you need before we leave?"

"Actually, water would be great."

"Will do. Thanks, Sergeant Lamson." Rick tells him

"My name's Bob." He tells him and I see Sasha look over

"You're still a cop." Rick pointed out

"No. No, the real ones are all gone."

"I will tell you this, I trust you and that doesn't come easy, but if they try anything, or hurt my mom or Beth in anyway that trust goes out the window" I tell him and start to walk away

"Were you a cop?" He asked me and I looked at him

"Doesn't matter anymore, like you said, all the real ones are gone" I told him and walked away

* * *

"Sasha!" I yelled as we ran over to her on the floor, I see a cut on her head and look up at the window

"Whoa, easy, easy" Tyreese told her and she looked around

"Son of bitch tricked me, said some sob story about his friend, I offered to help that's all I remember" She says and I take off

"Phoebe!" Daryl yelled but I kept going

I ran down the street following Lamson and slashed a walkers stomach as I passed it, I get into the cop car and continue to follow then grabbed the radio, "Stop." I said over it but he kept going, "Stop right now. Stop. I won't ask again" I warned but he kept going so I sped up then hit him and he fell forward. I got out and walked over to him

"Help me. Help me. You crazy...You crazy bitch. I think you...I think you broke my neck."

"Didn't have to be like this. You just had to stop." I told him

"I couldn't. I don't know you. But I think...I think I'm getting the idea."

"You just had to stop. I did warn you" I said to him

"Take me back." He begged and I hear walkers, "Take me back to the hospital. I did it for your friend."

"Not after this, no. Can't go back, Bob." I tell him

"I was gonna iron it over. She's under it. And you've been out here too long. You'll die. You'll all..." He says but I shoot him

"Shut up."

* * *

"Are you crazy?" Daryl asked me when I got back to the others, "You could have been killed" He says and I sighed

"I'm sorry, I couldn't risk it" I tell him and he pulled me into a hug

"I don't want to lose you"

I put my hand on his face and smiled, "Never gonna happen" I said and he kissed me, "He wouldn't stop." I told Rick and Daryl

"This change things?" Daryl asked

"It has to." Rick says

"Maybe not." Daryl pointed out

"Well she said the plan won't work. The guy who did is dead." I told them, "Maybe we gotta rethink this."

"They also said the cop in charge didn't have any love for him. Maybe you did her a favor." Daryl told me

"I don't know if they'll play ball." Rick mentioned

"Let's find out." Daryl says and we walk over to the others

"He was a good man. He was attacked by rotters. Saw it go down." The female cop told us and I looked at her

"Huh." I said searching her face, "You're a damn good liar." I told her

"We're hanging by a thread here. He was attacked by rotters. That's the story."

"You said the trade was a bad idea. What changed?" Daryl asked her

"Lamson was our shot. So it's this or you go in guns blazing, right? You don't want that."

"If this is some bullshit you're spinning and things go south..." Daryl started to say

"I know. I know the good ones from the bad. Let us help you."

"What about you? You wanna live? How much?" Rick asked the other one

"Dawn's afraid she'll look weak in front of us. Thinks it'll tip things against her. Hell, it will. She'll see this trade as a rip-off if she thinks you took out one of our guys. So it's a good thing Lamson got aced by rotters."

* * *

"You okay?" Daryl asked me as I looked out the window

"I've killed...4 people..I think, since this all began" I tell him and he put his hand on my shoulder, "I keep trying to not lose myself Daryl, but then the people I love get put in danger and a part of me comes out that I don't know who it is"

"Hey," He turned me to look at him, "I'm not gonna let you fall and if you do I'll catch you," He says and rang his thumb along my ring, "For better or worse right?" He asked and I smiled then kissed him

"For better or worse"

* * *

Daryl and Sasha looked down at the street from the roof we were on with the 2 cops while Rick was down below, Daryl snapped his fingers and Tyreese grabbed the radio, "They're headed towards the vantage point."

 _"Okay. Copy that."_ He says

"We're gonna get her" Tyreese tells me and I smile at him

* * *

The other 2 cops lead us to the hospital and unlock the doors for us and we head in moving up the stairs and through the halls until we get to a set of double doors

 _Holster your weapons._ the lady tells us over the radio and I put my gun away then we head inside, I see Beth standing there behind my mom who's in a wheelchair

"They haven't been harmed." Rick told her

"Where's Lamson?"

"Rotters got him." The female we had told her

"We saw it go down." The other added

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. He was one of the good guys." She says "One of yours for one of mine."

"All right." Daryl says and nodded to Daryl

"Move." Daryl walked him forward and one of theirs wheeled my mom forward handing Daryl her bag and he pushed her over to me

"Mom" I whispered bending down and hugging her then helped her stand up, "I got you" I tell her and Tyreese helped me support her then Rick moved forward with the female and walked back with Beth

"Glad we could work things out." The lady tells Rick

"Yeah."

"Now I just need Noah. And then you can leave." She says and we look at her

"That wasn't part of the deal." Rick told her

"Noah was my ward. Beth took his place and I'm losing her, so I need him back."

"Ma'am, please, it's not..."

"Shepherd!" She says cutting the female we had off, "My officers put their lives on the line to find him. One of them died."

"No, he ain't staying." Daryl told her moving forward

"He's one of mine. You have no claim on him."

"The boy wants to go home, so you have no claim on him." Rick says to her

"Well, then we don't have a deal."

"The deal is done." Rick said and Noah moved forwards

"It's okay."

"No. No." Rick tells him stopping him

"I got to do it." Noah tells him handing Rick his gun

"It's not okay." Beth says and I nod to Tyreese to keep hold on my mom and I walked up to her

"It's settled." The lady says and Noah moved forward

"Wait!" Beth says and walked over hugging him

"It's okay." Noah tells her

"I knew you'd be back." The lady tell him and Beth moved forward

"I get it now." She says and everything happened so fast, Beth stabbed her in the shoulder then I guess on instinct the lady shot Beth in the head and I stood there in shock, then Daryl pulled out his gun shooting her and we all draw our weapons on each other

"No! Hold your fire! It's over. It was just about her. Stand down." Shepard tells us and I moved over to Daryl putting my hand on his shoulder as he looked down at Beth and cried then he turned to me and I hugged him, "You can stay. We're surviving here. It's better than out there."

"No. And I'm taking anyone back there who wants to leave. If you want to come with us... just step forward now." Rick tells them but no one moved

* * *

We all walked out of the hospital one after the other, me and Rick were first, then Tyreese with my mom, then Sasha and Noah, I look and see the rest of our group walking towards us and I see Maggie then feel my heart break even more when Daryl walked out behind us carrying Beth. Maggie screamed and fell to the ground crying as Daryl continued walking, I started to cry too and my mom pulled me into a hug. Then we just stood there, mourning another lost member of our family.

 **A/N: Damn onion cutting ninjas. Excuse me *starts crying***


	15. Chapter 15

**fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

 **A/N: Just a heads up I am skipping the episode after that last one just so no one's lost.**

We walked for days after the events that just happened, we lost Beth and then we lost Tyreese. Daryl was hurting and I could see it, he didn't talk to me or look at me, he wasn't mad at me or anything he just shut himself down. We were tired, hungry, only had a little bit of water left that we took it easy on. We had a long ways to go still, but we held on, we always will

* * *

"We're out, just like the other one." Abraham says as the last car we found sputtered then dies

"So we walk." Rick tells us and we get out continuing our journey. We look back and see a small herd of walkers way behind us, "We're not at our strongest. We'll get 'em when it's best." Rick says to Daryl as they walk in front of me and my mom with the others behind us, "High ground, something like that. They're not going anywhere. It's been three weeks since Atlanta. I know you lost something back there." He tells him and I looked at Daryl then my mom held my hand, I gave her a sad smile then Judith fusses

"She's hungry."

"She's okay. She's going to be okay." Rick tells him

"We need to find water, food."

"We'll hit something in the road. It's gonna rain sooner or later." Rick points out

"I'm gonna head out. See what I can find." Daryl tells him and started to walk away

"Hey, don't be too long." Rick told him and my mom squeezed my hand

"I'll go with you." She says walking towards him

"I got it."

"You gonna stop me?" She asked and they headed off and I reached my hands out for Judith so he didn't have to carry so much and he handed her to me

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

"Anything?" Carol asked me while we walked through tall grass

"No, it's too dry. There ain't nothing here."

"Maybe we should start back." She says

"You go."

"I think she saved my life." Carol told me, "She saved your life, too, right?" She asked and handed me a knife, "It was hers. We're not dead. That's what you said. You're not dead. I know you. We're different. I can't let myself- But you... I know you. You have to let yourself feel it. You will." She said then kissed my head, "Just do me a favor, don't shut Phoebe out, okay? She needs you, more then you know and you need her."

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

We stand at a small bridge getting ready for the walkers as they get closer, we didn't want to use to much of our strength so we just decided to let them fall down the hill, I pushed one down and slipped but Glenn caught me and I nodded my head at him when suddenly Sasha breaks away, "Stay in line." Rick told us grabbing his machete out and I grabbed my knife as she holds onto a walker then stabbed it, "Flank her. Keep it controlled." Rick says

"Plan just got dicked." Abraham pointed out as we continued to kill walkers, then as I turned around and killed one another one grabbed me then I feel it get pulled off and Daryl kills it, I catch my breath and look at him then looked over at Michonne and Sasha and followed them as they walk away.

* * *

"Dad, look." Carl says and we see a couple cars up ahead

"I'm gonna head into the woods, circle back." Daryl says

"May I come with?" I asked him

"No. No, just me." He says and walked away, I sighed and feel my mom's hand on my shoulder but I moved away walking with the others as we search the cars but didn't really find anything.

* * *

We took a break sitting on the side of the road when we hear branches snap, I looked up grabbing my knife then saw Daryl walk out, I put my knife back and and leaned my head against the tree

"So all we found was booze?" Tara asked

"Yeah." Rosita answered and I see Abraham take a drink of whiskey

"It's not gonna help." Tara pointed out to her

"He knows that."

"It's gonna make it worse." She adds

"Yes, it is."

"He's a grown man. And I truly do not know if things can get worse." Eugene says

"They can." Rosita says

Just then we hear rustling and growling as 4 dogs walked out of the woods, I grabbed my knife as they stood there growling at us then I hear silenced gunshots as Sasha shoots them. Then we sat there and cooked them, it felt wrong but we needed it, I sat there looking at the flames when my mom came over and handed me a bottle of water.

"Give it to Daryl" I tell her looking back at the fire

"He told me to come give it to you" She says and I look at her then glance at Daryl who looked away, I grabbed it taking a small sip then handed it to her, "It's gonna be ok" She tells me and I just looked forward

"I'm just happy I didn't lose you too" I tell her and she pulled me into a side hug and I rested my head on her shoulder.

* * *

As we continued walking I hear rustling behind me and I looked to see Daryl walking away, I looked at Abraham and he held up his hand telling me he went looking for water, I nodded my head then looked back forward, I just needed to let him heal, then maybe he'll come back to me.

We stopped walking when we saw a bunch of bottles of water sitting in the road, Daryl came back and Rick handed him the note, from a friend, it said.

"What else are we gonna do?" Tara asked

"Not this. We don't know who left it." Rick tells her

"If that's a trap, we already happen to be in it. But I, for one, would like to think it is indeed from a friend." Eugene says

"What if it isn't? They put something in it?" My mom asked and Eugen bent down grabbing one

"Eugene." Rosita says

"What are you doing, dude?" Tara asked him

"Quality assurance." He says and before he could take a drink Abraham smacked it out of his hand

"We can't." Rick tells him then we hear thunder and shortly after it rains, I look up and smile with joy because man it feels good, I look over at Daryl, Maggie then Sasha as they just stand there, "Everybody get the bags. Anything you can find." Rick tells us and I reached into mine grabbing out my water bottle then walked over to Daryl reaching my hand out for his and he handed it to me and I turned away filling it up then the rains increased, "Let's keep moving." Rick says

"There's a barn." Daryl told him

"Where?"

We follow Daryl through the woods coming up on the barn, Rick opened the door and we walked inside looking around while the others waited then we let them in.

That night as we waited out the storm I sat away from everyone playing with some hay when Daryl sits down next to me, I looked at him then back at what I was doing. He grabbed my hand and I looked at him again, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" I asked him

"I shut down, shut you out"

I turned and faced him putting my hand on his face making him look at me, "Don't be sorry, you needed the time so I gave it to you."

He put his hand on mine and sniffled, "I need you, I need you to pull me back"

"I will always pull you back, you're my home Daryl, let me be yours" I tell him and he kissed me

"You've always been mine" He says and I kissed him again then he pulled me into a hug

"For better or worse, remember that" I tell him and he nodded, I smiled as we hugged, he wasn't fully there, but it was progress. He pulled away and I held his hand then noticed a burn mark, "What's this?"

"I needed to feel" He said and I fought back tears as I lifted his hand up and kissed the burn

"Did you feel that?" I asked him

"I always feel you, even when I'm not with you, that's how I knew you were still alive" He tells me and I smile, "I mean it, Phoebe I don't ever wanna go through the pain of losing you, it might just be what kills me. I love you more then you know and you filled every empty part of my heart with the love you have for me."

"That's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me" I tell him through happy tears

"I mean every word, I'm gonna show you each day how much you mean to me."

"Just you being here with me is enough baby, all I need is you, it's all I've ever needed" I tell him and he hugged me kissing my head

"You're to perfect for me"

"Oh hush" I giggled and looked over at my mom who smiled at us.

We moved over to the others and Daryl tried to keep the fire we started going but he sat back down wrapping his arm around my shoulder and I leaned my head on his shoulder, "I'll try." Glenn told him

"No, too wet."

"He's gonna be okay." my mom tells Rick as I see him look at Carl who's asleep next to Rick cuddling with Judith, what I wouldn't give for a camera right now, "He bounces back more than any of us do."

"I used to feel sorry for kids that have to grow up now. In this. But I think I got it wrong. Growing up is getting used to the world. This is easier for them."

"This isn't the world. This isn't it." Michonne told him

"It might be. It might." Glenn tells her

"That's giving up."

"It's reality. Until we see otherwise, this is what we have to live with. When I was a kid... I asked my grandpa once if he ever killed any Germans in the war. He wouldn't answer. He said that was grown-up stuff, so... so I asked if the Germans ever tried to kill him. But he got real quiet. He said he was dead the minute he stepped into enemy territory. Every day he woke up and told himself, "Rest in peace. Now get up and go to war." And then after a few years of pretending he was dead... he made it out alive. That's the trick of it, I think. We do what we need to do and then we get to live. But no matter what we find in DC, I know we'll be okay. Because this is how we survive. We tell ourselves... that we are the walking dead."

"We ain't them." Daryl says after a moment then got up again trying the twigs again

"We're not them" Rick says to him, "Hey. We're not"

Daryl stood up, "We ain't them" He says and reached his hand down to me, I grabbed it standing up too, he grabbed his crossbow and we walked over to a horse stall and we sat down, "You should sleep" He tells me

"Lay with me" I tell him and he set his crossbow down then laid down with me and I eventually fall asleep. I got woken up by a loud thunder crack and noticed Daryl wasn't next to me, I got up and walked out of the stable and saw him bracing himself against the door, I ran over and leaned on it too hearing walkers then everyone else came over to help as the storm and wind increased, I looked at Daryl then kept pushing on it.

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

I sat next to the hay bail me and Phoebe were at, she was sleeping with her head in my lap and I watched her until Maggie came over sitting next to me, "You should get some sleep." She told me

"Yeah."

"It's okay to rest now." She says and I looked over at Sasha

"He was tough." I told Maggie

"He was."

"So was she." I said talking about Beth, "She didn't know it, but she was." I reassured her and she smiled at me then looked away, I grabbed the music box and handed it to her, "The gearbox had some grit in it."

"Thank you." She said and got up walking over to Sasha, I took off my vest and slowly lifted Phoebe's head off my lap, she shifted opening her eyes briefly as I laid down and she cuddled into me. I meant every word I told her last night, I'll always show her how much I love her and what she means to me. She's my everything

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

The next morning after we all woke up I sat on the floor by Rick playing with Judith while Daryl fussed with his crossbow, "Hey." Maggie called from outside the door slowly pushing it open and I see her and Sasha walk in with a random guy, "Everyone... This is Aaron." She says and I stand in front of Judith as we raised our guns at him and Rick picked her up, "We met him outside. He's by himself. We took his weapons and we took his gear." She says and Daryl moved to the door looking outside then patted Aaron down

"Hi." Aaron says to us and Judith cries, Rick handed her to Carl, "It's nice to meet you." Aaron says moving forward but I moved up still pointing my gun and he stopped

"You said he had a weapon?" Rick asked Maggie and she walked over handing Rick the gun, a small gun, Rick tucked it in his pants, "There something you need?" He asked Aaron

"He has a camp, nearby. He wants us to audition for membership." Sasha says

"I wish there was another word. Audition makes it sound like we're some kind of a dance troupe. That's only on Friday nights." he joked but we all looked at him, "Um, and it's not a camp. It's a community. I think you all would make valuable additions. But it's not my call. My job is to convince you all to follow me back home. I know. If I were you, I wouldn't go either. Not until I knew exactly what I was getting into. Sasha, can you hand Rick my pack?" He asked her and she brings it over to him, "Front pocket, there's an envelope. There's no way I could convince you to come with me just by talking about our community. That's why I brought those. I apologize in advance for the picture quality. We just found an old camera store last..."

"Nobody gives a shit." Daryl tells him and I looked at him

"You're absolutely 100% right. That's the first picture I wanted to show you because nothing I say about our community will matter unless you know you'll be safe. If you join us, you will be. Each panel in that wall is a 15-foot-high, 12-foot-wide slab of solid steel framed by cold-rolled steel beams and square tubing. Nothing alive or dead gets through that without our say-so." He informed us and Rick handed me the pictures, I looked at them and to be honest it sounded to good to be true, "Like I said, security is obviously important. In fact, there's only one resource more critical to our community's survival. The people. Together we're strong. You can make us even stronger. The next picture, you'll see inside the gates. Our community was first construc..." He got cut off when Rick walked up to him punching him in the face knocking Aaron out

* * *

"So we're clear, that look wasn't a "let's attack that man" look. It was a "he seems like an okay guy to me" look." Michonne says to Rick

"We got to secure him. Dump his pack. Let's see what this guy really is." He told us

"Rick."

"Everybody else, we need eyes in every direction. They're coming for us. We might not know how or when, but they are." Rick told us and I looked at him

"Me and Sasha, we didn't see him. If he had wanted to hurt us, he could've." Maggie says

"Anybody see anything?" Rick asked us ignoring her

"Just a lot of places to hide." Glenn says

"All right, keep looking." He tells everyone and walked over to me while I looked through Aaron's bag, "What did you find?" He asked me and I handed him the flare gun, he nodded then walked back over to Aaron as he regained consciousness

That's a hell of a right cross there, Rick."

"Sit him up." Rick says to Maggie

"I think it's better if..."

"It's okay." Aaron tells her

"He's fine. Sit him up." Rick said again and Michonne sat him up

"You're being cautious. I completely understand." Aaron tells him

"How many of your people are out there? You have a flare gun. You have it to signal your people. How many of them are there?"

"Does it matter?" Aaron asked him

"Yes. Yes, it does."

"I mean, of course, it matters how many people are actually out there, but does it matter how many people I tell you are out there? Because I'm pretty sure no matter what number I say... eight, 32, 444, zero... No matter what I say, you're not going to trust me." Aaron says

"Well, it's hard to trust anyone who smiles after getting punched in the face." I tell him

"How about a guy who leaves bottles of water for you in the road?"

"How long you people been following us?" Daryl asked him moving up next to me

"Long enough to see that you practically ignore a pack of roamers on your trail. Long enough to see that despite a lack of food and water, you never turned on each other. You're survivors and you're people. Like I said, and I hope you won't punch me for saying it again, that is the most important resource in the world."

"How many others are out there?" Rick asked him again

"One." Aaron tells him and Rick lightly shook his head, "I knew you wouldn't believe me. If it's not words, if it's not pictures, what would it take to convince you that this is for real? What if I drove you to the community? All of you. We leave now, we'll get there by lunch."

"I'm not sure how the 16 of us are going to fit in the car you and your one friend drove down here in." Rick mentioned to him

"We drove separately. If we found a group, we wanted to be able to bring them all home. There's enough room for all of us."

"And you're parked just a couple miles away, right?" I asked him

"East on Ridge Road, just after you hit Route 16. We wanted to get them closer, but then the storm came, blocked the road. We couldn't clear it."

"Yeah, you've really thought this through." Rick told him

"Rick, if I wanted to ambush you, I'd do it here. You know, light the barn on fire while you slept, pick you off as you ran out the only exit. You can trust me."

"I'll check out the cars." Michonne told Rick

"There aren't any cars."

"There's only one way to find out." She adds

"We don't need to find out."

"We do. You know what you know and you're sure of it, but I'm not." She pointed out

"Me neither" Maggie added

"Your way is dangerous, mine isn't." Rick told Michonne

"Passing up someplace where we can live? Where Judith can live? That's pretty dangerous. We need to find out what this is. We can handle ourselves. So that's what we're gonna do."

"Then I will, too." Glenn agreed

"Abraham." Rick calls to him

"Yeah. I'll walk with them."

"Rosita?" He asked

"Okay."

"If there's trouble, you got enough firepower?" Rick asked Glenn

"We got what we got."

"The walkies are out of juice. If you're not back in 60 minutes, we'll come." I told them as they start to head out

"Which might be just what they want." Rick says, "If we're all in here, we're a target."

"We've got the area covered." Daryl tells him and nudged me to go with him and the rest of them

"All right, groups of two, find somewhere safe within eye shot."

* * *

"This, this is ours now." Rick says to Aaron as we look at he food

"There's more than enough."

"It's ours whether or not we go to your camp." Rick pointed out

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't we go?" Carl asked him

"If he were lying or if he wanted to hurt us... but he isn't, and he doesn't. We need this. So we're going, all of us. Somebody say something if they feel differently." Michonne defended and I looked at Daryl

"I don't know, man. This barn smells like horse shit." Daryl says and I put my hand on his shoulder

"Yeah. We're going." Rick finally said and I smiled at him, "So where are we going? Where's your camp?" Rick asked Aaron

"Well, every time I've done this, I've been behind the wheel driving recruits back. I believe you're good people. I've bet my life on it. I'm just not ready to bet my friends' lives just yet."

"You're not driving. So if you want to get home, you'll have to tell us how." Michonne tells him

"Go north on Route 16."

"And then?" She asked

"I'll tell you when we get there."

"We'll take 23 north. You'll give us directions from there." Rick told him

"That's... I don't know how else to say it... That's a bad idea. We've cleared 16. It'll be faster."

"We'll take 23. We leave at sundown." Rick persisted

"We're doing this at night?" Sasha asked him

"Look, I know it's dangerous. But it's better than riding up to the gates during the day. If it isn't safe, we need to get gone before they know we're there."

"No one is going to hurt you. You're trying to protect your group, but you're putting them in danger." Aaron says to Rick

"Tell me where the camp is, we'll leave right now." Rick tells him but Aaron stayed quiet, "It's going to be a long night. Eat. Get some rest if you can" Rick said to us and I nudged Daryl to follow me and we walked outside

"What are your thoughts on this?" I asked him

"I don't know. Sounds to good to be true" He says and I nodded then looked down but he lifted my chin so I would look at him, "But if it's a chance for us to survive, and I would know you're safe with a roof over your head then I'll do what it takes."

I smiled at him then kissed him, "I need you safe too Mr. Dixon" I tell him and he kissed me again

"Then maybe we can start trying to work on that family again, Mrs. Dixon" I smiled as he pulled me into a hug, I never would have thought that this rough and tough man would be so willing to want a family but he is and I loved it. Problem is we tried for months at the prison and I never got pregnant, I kind of began to doubt if I even could have children.

* * *

That night I sat in the RV as we followed the others, I was in the back sitting on the bed when my mom walked up to me, "Penny for your thoughts?"

I looked up at her and smiled as she sat next to me, "Just thinking"

"About what?"

"If this is real, are we really gonna have a place to go? Or is it a pipe dream?" I asked and she grabbed my hand

"Something tells me that's not the only thing on your mind"

I sighed and looked down, "When you um...when you wanted to have me, and Sophia, was it hard for you to...get pregnant with us?"

I looked up at her and saw her look at Daryl then me again, "At first. I never told you this but before I got pregnant with you I miscarried another baby" She told me and I looked at her, "But yes when we tried not only for that one but for you as well it was hard. How long were you and Daryl trying for?"

"We started after we got the people from Woodbury settled in" I tell her and she grabbed my hand

"That doesn't mean anything is wrong, with you or with Daryl, it could just take time. Rome wasn't built in a day."

I chuckled at her and gave her a hug, "Thank you mom"

"Anytime sweetie"

"Shit!" We hear Abraham say from up front and I went up there followed by my mom

"What is it?" I asked but then I saw a bunch of walkers in the road and blood

"It looks like they drove right through it" Maggie says

"We can't stay here though, we need to double back" I point out

"And where do you suggest we go?" Abraham asked me

"I have an idea"

* * *

Me and Daryl stood outside a building we found after shooting the flare and finding the person Aaron was with, "They should have been here by now" I pointed out and Daryl grabbed my hand

"They will be" He says and I smiled at him, "In the meantime, wanna fool around?" He asked and I saw the smirk on his face

"You think you're funny?" I asked with a smile and he kissed my cheek

"Isn't that why you married me?"

"I married you because I love you, not your poor attempts at jokes" I tell him and he lightly shoved me then we hear footsteps approaching then a whistle, we look and saw Rick walking over with the others. Daryl whistled back and I knocked on the door to alert the others, I moved as the door opened then Maggie and Carl ran out first.

"Dad!" Carl yelled hugging him

"Is your sister ok?" Rick asked him

"Yeah"

"Eric? Eric?" Aaron asked then headed inside

"I see you got my message" I told Rick and he put his hand on my shoulder, "I knew it was risky but..."

"You acted on instinct. Thank you" He says and I nodded then we all headed back inside

* * *

"Excuse me. Excuse me. Everyone." Aaron says to us walking out of the room his friend was in, "Thank you. You saved Eric. I owe you. All of you. And I will make sure that debt is paid in full when we get to our community. When we get to Alexandria. Now, I'm not sure about you, but I'd rather not do any more driving tonight." He said we all gave a light chuckle, "Maybe we can hit the road tomorrow morning."

"That sounds fine. But if we're staying here for the night, you're sleeping over there." Rick told him

"You really think we got to do that?" I asked Rick

"It's the safe play. We don't know you." Rick told Aaron

"The only way you're gonna stop me from being with him right now is by shooting me." Aaron says and Rick stayed quiet then Aaron moved forward but Glenn stopped him

"Whoa. Rick, he told us where the camp is. And he really was only traveling with one other person. They're both unarmed. One of them's got a broken ankle. I want us to be safe, too. I can't give up everything else. I know what I said, but it does matter." Glenn told Rick who hesitated

"All right."

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

"Seven-card stud. Stares and squares. It's aces, cuatros, neeners, and two-eyed jacks." Eugene says to Phoebe, Tara and Glenn as we sat in the RV the next day.

"So there's 14 wild cards? Are you serious?" Tara asked him

"Serious as two copulating dogs."

"Ok completely inappropriate" Phoebe laughed and I looked over at her, it sure was nice to see her smile again. She looked over at me and gave me a wink and I smiled at her. This place better work, she needs it, they all need it. I want her to have a place to call home.

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

"Can't win." Abraham says hitting the hod of the RV, "Might as well paint it red, put a ladder on it."

"All we need is another battery." Glenn told him

"Where in the hell are we gonna find another battery?"

"Right over here." Glenn says and they walked over to the side of the RV, Glenn lifted a small door inside by the steps

"How'd you know those were there?" Abraham asked him and me and Glenn looked at each other, I feel my heart twist in pain but I smiled

"An old friend" I tell him and Glenn gave my hand a squeeze then they finished fixing it up then it started, we all cheered and I see Rick walk into the woods. I thought about going after him but then Daryl came down from the RV and wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and kissed my cheek, I turned and smiled at him kissing him on the lips then Rick came back and we took off.

We pull up to a set of gates and I looked out the front, then we all got out walking towards them and I hear children laughing behind them, Daryl grabbed my hand and I looked at him. This was the start of something, for all of us, I could feel it.


	16. Chapter 16

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

 **A/N: Over a thousand views? Thank you, to everyone who favorites this story and follows it, it means a lot. I hope you are enjoying the story line I have for Phoebe and Daryl, now I know some people probably think this is not how Daryl would act but I like having him this way because I think he really would be like this deep down. BTW I think he really does need someone on the show, cause come on he's been through so much he deserves someone special in his life. Anyways please continue to read, like, review. Let me know if you want to see anything added or what not I always take suggestions and feedback.**

As we walked up to the gates of Alexandria they opened a little and Aaron walked up with Eric helping him inside then stood there with us, we hear something rattle from next to us and Daryl let go of my hand and quickly shot it as the gates opened the rest of the way. He picked up the possum as we looked at another guy standing there, "We brought dinner." He tells him and I lightly chuckled

"It's okay." Aaron told the guy who just looked at us, "Come on in, guys." He says to us and we all walked in then the gates closed

"Before we take this any further, I need you all to turn over your weapons." The guy told us, "To stay, you hand them over."

"We don't know if we want to stay." Rick told him

"It's fine, Nicholas." Aaron said to him

"If we were gonna use them, we would have started already." Rick pointed out

"Let them talk to Deanna first." Aaron said to Nicholas

"Who's Deanna?" Abraham asked him

"She knows everything you'd want to know about this place. Rick, why don't you start?" Aaron says and Rick turned to face us, "Sasha." He told her and she looked out the gate as a walker was coming towards us and she shoots it, "It's a good thing we're here." Rick pointed out and we started walking

* * *

We stood outside the house Aaron walked us to and brought Rick inside, I stood there looking around the place. Houses, actual houses, it really did seem to good to be true. After a while Rick finally came out and Deanna wanted to talk to me, I looked at Daryl then headed inside.

"Hello Phoebe, I'm Deanna Monroe. Please have a seat." She told me and I looked around at the house then sat in a chair across from her, "Do you mind if I film this?"

"Sure, I guess"

"Rick told me you all have been out there since the beginning. Did you know each other before or-?" She asked

"I knew Rick and his son before the start, we were in the same sheriff's department together. Me and my mom met Glenn and Daryl after the start when we had another group. The others we met along the way." I told her, "What is this place?" I asked her

"This was a planned community with its own solar grid, cisterns, eco-based sewage filtration. Starting in the low 800,000s if there is such a thing. And they sold them all."

"What brought you here?" I asked

"Well like I told Rick, my family and I were trying to get back to Ohio so I could help my district manage the crisis. And the army stopped us on a back road and directed us here. They were supposed to come later. They didn't. But there were supplies here and we made the best of it."

"So then you put up the wall?" I ask

"Well, there was this huge shopping mall being built nearby. And my husband Reg is a professor of architecture. And who he was mattered quite a bit. He got the first plates up with our sons. And after a few weeks, more people arrived and we had help. We had a community." She told me and I nodded, "Do you want to be here Phoebe?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "I guess, I mean we've been out there for so long and...well to finally have a place, it's nice I suppose"

"And your husband?" She asked me and I looked at her confused, "Your ring" She indicated and I looked at it, "Which one is he?"

"Daryl, the guy holding the possum" I told her and she gave a light chuckle

"So you knew him after the start, how long after did you two get married?" She asked me and I had to think, how long has it been?

"I honestly don't even know what month it is" I pointed out

"It's May 18th"

I chuckled, "We were together for 4 or so months, married for a 1 year now."

"It so great to find someone in this world now" She says and I nodded, "Thank you Phoebe" She says and I walked out of the house up to Daryl and kissed him

"Happy 1 year" I told him and he looked at me confused, "She told me it's May 18th, we've been married 1 year" I said and he nodded his head then he got called into the house, "Play nice" I say and he nodded then headed inside

 **Daryl POV...**

I walked around the chair it front of Deanna then walked over to a bowl full of rocks and picked at them while still holding the possum, "You're welcome to sit, Daryl. I won't bite." She told me

"Yeah, I'm all right."

"Daryl, do you want to be here?" She asked me

"The boy and the baby, my wife, they deserve a roof. I guess."

"I believe that both you and your wife deserve this" She told me and I nodded

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

"They're still your guns. You can check them out whenever you go beyond the wall. But inside here, we store them for safety." Deanna told us as we all put our guns on the cart. I reluctantly put mine on there looking at Rick. My mom walked over and struggled to get the gun over her shoulders off due to her bad shoulder, I walked over and helped her then she set it in on the cart then the lady, Olivia, pulled the cart away

"Should have brought another bin." She says and I gave a small smile

* * *

I stood in the bedroom of one of the houses they gave us and I walked over to the closet looking at the clothes in there, most of them were my kind of clothes and some, well not. I grabbed one that would fit me most then headed into the bathroom, I turned on the shower and felt something I didn't feel for a long time, hot water. I got in and once the water hit my skin I didn't want to get out. I washed and scrubbed getting all the dirt off me then grabbed a shaver and shaved my legs and under my arms. After I was done I got out then got dressed looking at myself in the mirror and grabbed a tooth brush, I felt like someone needed to pinch me.

I headed downstairs and saw Rick out on the porch holding Judith and followed Carl out, "You can look. Just be quick" Rick told Carl and I looked at him in shock as Carl and my mom walked away and went to the other house then Rick looked at me, "What?"

"I almost forgot what your face looked like" I said with a smile and he chuckled

"Shut up"

I walked over to Daryl who was sitting on the steps skinning the possum, I put my hand on his shoulder and he looked at me, "You clean up nice"

"You should give it a shot" I tell him and he grumbled, I shook my head then walked away to look at the rest of this place.

* * *

"How long was I in there for?" Michonne asked walking into the living room of the one house where we were gonna all sleep tonight

"20 minutes." Rick told her

"God, I could not stop brushing."

"I know how you feel" I told her and she smiled then looked at Rick

"Huh. I've never- I've never seen your face like that."

"That's what I felt before and after." He says and I sit down in between Daryl's legs on the window bed and he wrapped his arms around me, he was still dirty but right now it didn't matter.

There was a knock at the door and Rick answered it, "Rick, I- Wow. I didn't know what was under there." Deanna says and I chuckled, "Listen, I don't mean to interrupt. I just wanted to stop by and see how you were all settling." She says walking in and looked around at all of us, "Oh, my. Staying together. Smart."

"No one said we couldn't." Rick told her

"You said you're a family. That's what you said. Absolutely amazing to me how people with completely different backgrounds and nothing in common can become that. Don't you think?"

"Everybody said you gave them jobs." Rick mentioned and I looked at them confused, I didn't get one.

"Mm-hmm. Yeah. Part of this place. Looks like the communists won after all."

"Well, you didn't give me one." Rick pointed out

"I have. I just haven't told you yet. Same with Michonne. I'm closing in on something for Sasha. And I'm just trying to figure Mr. Dixon out, but I will."

"Good luck trying" I said to her and Daryl scoffed behind me, I looked at him and smiled then looked back at Deanna

"Something has been found for you Phoebe, I'll discuss it with you later." She told me and I looked at her as she looked at Rick, "You look good." She tells Rick and left

* * *

I walked out on the porch seeing Daryl sitting there fussing with his crossbow, I walked over to him and handed him some water, "Thanks" He said still looking at the crossbow so I set it on the railing behind him

"You know I'm starting to think you love that thing more then me"

He looked up at me, "Stop. You know I won't ever love anything more then you"

"Oh I don't know, you might find some other pretty girl here who will catch your eye and you'll get bored with me" I said jokingly and he pulled me to him

"Only one girl has ever caught my eye, and I married her" He says and I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him.

"Time to punch the clock and make the casseroles." We hear my mom say and we broke apart then looked at her. I look at her in shock

"What?" Daryl asked her

"Make dinner for the older people-moms who need a break, people who can't cook. Get to meet a lot of the neighbors that way."

"All right." He scoffed

"Have you taken a shower yet?" She asked him

"Mm-hmm." He says and I shook my head no at her

"Take a shower. I'm gonna wash that vest. We need to keep up appearances, even you." She told him walking down the stairs

"Hey, I ain't starting now."

"I'm gonna hose you down in your sleep." She says starting to walk away

"You look ridiculous." He told her and I smacked his arm

* * *

"You obey my orders out there." Me and Daryl hear someone tell Glenn as we walked over

"Then we're just as screwed as your last run crew."

"Say that again." The guy told him

"No, back off, Aiden." Tara says to him and he pushed Glenn

"Come on. Come on, man. Just take a step back." Noah told Aiden

"Come on, tough guy."

"No one's impressed, man. Walk away." Glenn warned him

"Aiden! What is going on?" Deanna asked walking over

"This guy's got a problem with the way we do things." He says then looked at her, "Why did you let these people in?"

"Because we actually know what we're doing out there." Glenn told him and he swung around attempting to hit Glenn who ducked then punched him

"Aiden, no! That's enough!" Deanna yelled at him and I see Nicholas try to run over but Daryl tackled him to the ground

"Daryl!" I yelled as Rick and Carl came running in from outside the gate

"I said that is enough!" Deanna yelled again and Rick went over to Daryl

"Whoa, whoa! Hey, hey, hey! Let's not do this now." Rick says to him and Michonne stepped in front of Aiden who was gonna go for Glenn again

"You want to end up on your ass again?" She asked him and Rick pulled Daryl off moving him back I put my hand on his arm

"Daryl, calm down" I tell him as he paced but Rick kept blocking him, "Daryl." I said one more time and stepped in front of him, he stopped pacing and looked at me, I knew he would never hurt me, he nodded his head and I grabbed his hand

"I want everyone to hear me, okay? Rick and his people are part of this community now in all ways as equals. Understood?" Deanna shouted then looked at Aiden

"Understood."

"All of you, turn in your weapons. Then you two come talk to me." She told Aiden and Nicholas then looked at Rick, "I told you I had a job for you. I'd like you to be our constable. That's what you were. That's what you are. And you too." She says to Michonne, "Will you accept?" She asked

"Okay." Rick says

"Yeah, I'm in." Michonne agreed, Daryl scoffed then walked away and I followed him

* * *

"Hey" I said to Daryl walking out onto the porch where he was smoking

"Hi" I leaned on the railing next to him, "I'm sorry"

"Don't be, you were helping Glenn" I told him and he grabbed my hand then kissed it as Rick walked out wearing a uniform

"We good?" Rick asked him

"Yeah. You a cop again?" Daryl asked him as my mom walked out

"I'm trying it on for size."

"So we're staying?" She asked him

"I think we can start sleeping in our own homes. Settle in."

"If we get comfortable here, we let our guard down- this place is gonna make us weak." She pointed out

"Carl said that. But it's not gonna happen. We won't get weak. That's not in us anymore. We'll make it work. And if they can't make it... then we'll just take this place."

* * *

The next morning everyone was already up and headed out of the house, I saw Daryl sitting on the porch railing again and I walked up to him, "Day 2" I said and he looked at me confused, "It's been two days and you haven't taken advantage of the warm water" I smirked and he scoffed, I wrapped my arms around his neck and he put his hands on my waist, "What if I made it worth your while?" I asked him and he looked at me, I kissed him then as I pulled away I bit his bottom lip. That got him moving because he grabbed my hand and we headed inside and up to the bathroom.

After he got undressed I followed then barely had any reaction time because he pulled me into the shower and started to kiss me, I put my hand on his chest and moved him under the water and ran my fingers through his hair then the dirt washed off his face and body, "There you are" I told him and he put his hands on my face pulling me under the water and began to kiss me again then turned me around so my back was against the shower wall, that's the one thing I like about showers that don't double as a tub, there's more room. He lifted my legs up and I wrapped them around his waist as he kissed my neck, I laid my head back giving him more access. Then he set my one leg down and moved my other one over his arm then pushed into me, I laid my head back again as he continued to pump into me and I bit my lip, his other hand reached up and his fingers went into my hair and his mouth back on my neck, "Oh god Daryl" I moaned and he moved faster and harder, I was filled with so much pleasure right now that I didn't notice he put my leg down then turned me around lifting my leg up onto the small bench that was in the shower bending me slightly and re-entered me holding one hand on my hip and the other gripped my other hand and he pounded into me, "Oh fuck" I moaned and his grip tightened on my hip

"Pheebs" He moaned and took his hand away from mine moving it to my front squeezing my breast then moved his hand down and started to rub my nub, I jerked but his hand held me there as he continued to rub it

"Daryl!" I moaned and he moved faster, "Ohhh!" I moaned again and finally let go then after a few more grunts and pushes Daryl finished as well. He grabbed my hips and helped me stand and I face him, "You are gonna be the death of me Mr. Dixon" I tell him wrapping my arms around his neck and he kissed me

"I have a sexy wife, I can't help it"

"Well I have a sexy as hell husband who I can't seem to keep my hands off" I tell him and he kissed me then pushed me against the shower wall again, "And as much as I would love another round with you we have to go meet Rick."

"Mood killer" He says in my ear and lightly bit it causing me to lightly moan.

"Later tonight, you, me and the bedroom I picked out for us"

"Deal" He said and we finally got out and dressed then headed to the woods to meet with Rick and my mom

* * *

"I don't see it, but it's close. There's just one of 'em." Daryl told us as we stand by a house outside of the walls hearing a walker

"We won't be here long. So what do you think?" Rick asked

"We can go in when it's empty." My mom told him talking about the weapons storage

"How is that? It's locked up at night." I told her

"The window. There's just a latch. I can leave it open."

"A latch?" Rick asked

"Yeah."

"What if one of those pricks shuts it?" Daryl asked her

"Wait a couple of days, leave it open again."

We hear the walker snarl, "It's getting closer." Daryl pointed out

"We need to do it sooner than later. Right now, they're not watching us. Not worrying about meetings like this. We may need the guns, we may not." Rick says

"We will whatever way it goes." My mom told him

"They're the luckiest damn people I ever met. And they just keep getting luckier."

"How's that?" Daryl asked him

"We're here now."

"They've got a couple of footlockers just full of 9 millimeter autos, Rugers, Kel-Tecs. Just tossed in there. They don't use them. They're never gonna know they're gone." My mom added

"Someone's got one now, right?" Daryl asked indicating to the old blender Rick hid a gun in

"Mmm. Listen, the others, we want them to try." Rick tells us

"You, too." my mom said to Daryl

"So we keep it quiet. Just us." Rick mentioned

"Here it comes." Daryl indicated to the walker, "I got him."

"Hey, wait." My mom says and walked over with a gun and shot at it hitting everywhere but the head then finally killed it, "We said we were taking me out shooting. I couldn't go back with a full mag." She pointed out

"Lucky he came by." Daryl says

"We should get back. You'll pull the latch, we'll pick our moment. Us, we don't need to be lucky." Rick tells my mom as we walk past the dead walker and Daryl stopped

"What the hell's that? Is that a W?" He asked and we looked at the walkers forehead seeing a W carved into it

* * *

"I'll be back later, gonna hunt" He told me as Rick and my mom walked ahead

"Want company?" I asked him running my hand up his chest and he grabbed it

"If you came with I wouldn't get much hunting done."

"You say that like I'm a distraction" I tell me with a smirk

"You are, especially when you wear stuff like this" He indicated to my low cut shirt, "No one else better look at you like that, I'll take their eyes"

"Mmm my jealous husband" I said wrapping my arms around his neck and he put his hands on my waist

"You're my girl, and only mine."

I kissed him and he pushed his tongue into my mouth, I quietly moaned then pulled away, "Talk about distractions" I said and he kissed me again

"I love you"

"I love you too." I tell him and headed back to the gates.

* * *

Later on that day Daryl got back and I saw Aaron with him, "Not going to the party?" Daryl asked me and I shook my head

"Not really feeling into it, I know we're suppose to try but get togethers have never been my thing." I told him and he reached out his hand to me

"We'll go for a walk then" He says and I smiled at him then we headed down the street

"Daryl, Phoebe. Hey." We hear Aaron say to us from his porch,

"Thought you were going to that party over there." Daryl mentioned to him

"Oh, I was never going to go 'cause of Eric's ankle, thank God."

"Why the hell did you tell me to go, then?" Daryl asked him

"I said try. You did. For her." Aaron indicated to me and I smiled at him then Daryl, "It's a thought that counts thing."

"All right."

"Hey, come in. Have some dinner. Come on, it's some pretty serious spaghetti." Aaron told us and I looked at Daryl

"What could it hurt" I told him and he nodded then we headed in

* * *

"Thanks." Daryl tells Aaron and Eric after he slurped some spaghetti.

"Daryl" I whispered to him and he looked at me and I smiled shaking my head

"Mmm, when you're out there, if you happen to be in a store or something, Mrs. Neudermyer is really looking for a pasta maker." Eric says to Daryl, "And we're all really trying to get her to shut up about it. I mean, we have crates of dried pasta in here, but she wants to make her own or something. I really think she just wants something to talk about, so... if you see one out on your travels, it would go a long way to..." He stopped and I looked at him confused as he looked at Aaron, "I thought it was done. You didn't ask him already?"

"Ask me what?" Daryl asked the Aaron gestured for Daryl to follow him, I looked at Daryl and they walked out.

"More wine?" Eric asked me and I nodded then he poured more into my glass, "So you two were married after all this?" Eric asked me and I smiled

"Yeah, well we knew each other after we all met up with some other people we stayed at a quarry with back in Atlanta, Daryl really only talked to me which I thought was weird at first but it gave me a chance to know the real him. We just kept getting closer after that then when we were at the CDC I was drunk and told him how I felt about him, he kissed me then we didn't talk about it until..." I stopped and sighed

"Until what? If you don't mind me asking"

"Until my little sister went missing" I said and looked down

"What happened?"

I looked back at him, "We were on a highway where we ran into a traffic snarl after the CDC blew up" I told him and he looked at me confused, "Long story. We were just looking through cars for supplies when a herd of walkers started walking towards us, we all hid and I kept my eye on my little sister. After it was done and we thought we were safe a walker tried grabbing her from under the car, she ran down into the woods and I followed her, told her to hide while I led them away but when I got back she was...she was gone." I tell him and he came and sat by me, "We searched and searched, Daryl almost died when he found her doll, a member of our group, Shane, wanted to give up but I made a promise to my mom that we would find her. Well we did, but she was a walker and I was the one that killed her" I told him and my heart sank, I haven't really talked about Sophia in a long time except when Carl asked me about my best memory with her.

"I'm so sorry" Eric told me and grabbed my hand, I gave him a sad smile

"It's ok, I still miss her so much everyday and...sometimes," I try to hold tears back, "Sometimes it hurts, but other times I think to myself that I'm actually glad she's not here and I know that sounds horrible but at least she didn't have to go through the stuff we went through. I see how this is changing Carl and I wouldn't have wanted that for her, I wouldn't want this..this life for her. So I guess in a way she's safe now, she doesn't have to watch who our mom became and she doesn't have to see me kill people to protect us." I finished and Eric reached over and hugged me, I tensed at first because it caught me off guard then hugged him back

"So I um..." He says sitting back in his chair, "Aaron has a job for Daryl, I also have one for you." He says and I looked at him confused, "Aaron doesn't want me out there anymore so I've decided to help out with the people here who have kids, watching them while their parents do other things or just need sometime. I saw how you are with Rick's children and I think they would like you." He told me and I sighed

"Yeah, I guess I can do that"

"Great" He said and smiled, "That's great."

I looked at him and smiled, "Daryl and I tried for a while to have kids but I don't know, we didn't have any luck."

"Oh, well Pete our doctor could take a look, if you want" He suggested and I was about to say something when Daryl and Aaron walked in

"Ready?" Daryl asked me and I nodded my head

"Thank you both for dinner, and the talk" I said looking at Eric who smiled and we walked out the door.

* * *

"So that's what Eric was talking about." I pointed out as we got ready for bed and Daryl looked at me

"You okay with it?"

I sighed and walked over to him, "Not really, I mean you could be gone for days or weeks and I wouldn't know if anything happened to you, but I know how hard it is for you being in here and I don't want you feeling trapped. I want you to be happy and if that means going outside the walls to find people then, then I want that for you" I told him and he pulled me to him

"Thank you" He says and I kissed him

"Besides, Eric offered me a job." I said to him

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"Well he offered to watch the children of people here and offered me to help him because he knows how I am with Judith and Carl" I point out

"Sounds like something you would enjoy."

"I thought so too so I said yes, it'll be an attempt to keep my mind occupied while you're out there." I tell him and he kissed me

"Hopefully we can have one too," I looked down and moved away from him, "What is it?"

"I didn't really want to say anything because I didn't want to lose hope but I'm starting to think I can't get pregnant" I confessed to him and he looked at me, "I mean think about it, after we brought those people back from Woodbury we tried for months, nothing. Every time we were at the farm or out in the woods not really caring, nothing."

"It could still happen." He pointed out

"I know," I said walking up to him, "I know it could, it took my mom a while to get pregnant with me. I'm just thinking maybe I could go to the doctor here and get checked out just to be sure" I brought up and he looked at me

"You sure?"

"I want to make sure we can do this because we both want it." I tell him and he nodded

"Okay" He says and I kissed him

* * *

"Take your pick." My mom told us the next day holding a bag of hand guns up

"Look, I've been thinking. Do we really need these?" Daryl asked Rick, "I mean, things go bad, yeah, sure. We do what we gotta do, but it's like you said. We don't need these for that."

"Right now we don't." My mom says

"You wanted me to try, right?" He asked, "I'm good."

My mom looked at me, "I'm with him on this. Do I feel safer with my gun? Yes, but we have to try" I added and Rick turned to my mom and grabbed one

* * *

"Hi there, Phoebe right?" Pete asked me and I shook his hand

"Yeah. This is Daryl, my husband" I told him but Daryl just stood there

"Well let's take a look" He gestured to one of the beds and I walked over sitting down and Daryl stood next to me, "Now how long have you tried to concieve?"

"About a 3 months back at the place we used to be"

"And nothing?" He asked and I shook my head, "Well since our testing equipment is limited these days I'll take an ultra sound of your uterus and see what we find out." I nodded my head and laid down then Daryl stood by me and grabbed my hand as Pete brought out the machine and I lifted my shirt, I felt Daryl tense his hand and I looked at him giving him a nod. He is never going to be okay with men touching me that we don't know. He relaxed and Pete put the wand on my stomach, my heart was racing, I really hoped everything was okay, and if it was I didn't want it to be something with Daryl, "Okay, from what I see everything looks good no damage or anything." He says and put the wand down handing me a towel to wipe the goo up, "So my best guess is since you guys were out there for so long even when you were at the place you were at you probably have ovulation problems, now that's nothing to be concerned about I surprisingly enough have an ovulation stimulator," He says standing up and walked over to the medicine cupboard and I sat up, "It's called Clomiphene, it will help induce ovulation. Take one a day for 5 days starting at the 5th day of your cycle. Now it can cause blurred vision so I suggest not driving or operating machinery" He told me with a smile and I gave a small one as he handed me the bottle, "Now if you have any serious symptoms such as stomach pain, double vision or abnormal bleeding come back and see me."

"Thank you" I told him and got off the bed

"Hope it helps" He added and I nodded then me and Daryl walked out

"You okay?" Daryl asked me and I gave him a small smile

"Least it's nothing bad" I said and he kissed my hand as we walked back to our house.

* * *

The next day I laid with Daryl in bed as he held me, it was his first day to go out with Aaron and I didn't want to let him go, "Plan on letting me leave?" He asked and I smiled at him

"No, I actually thought about just tying you to the bed so you can't go" I tell him and he shifted us so he was on top of me

"Now that's just a turn on" He growled and kissed me then lifted my leg up and before I could react he pushed into me

"Oh god" I moaned

* * *

I kissed Daryl goodbye as he sat at the gate on the bike he worked on with Aaron in the car behind him and they drove off. I stood there for a few more minutes then headed to Eric's place to start my job.

* * *

After the day was done and I said goodbye to Eric I headed home, as I walked up the steps someone stopped me, "Hey there Phoebe" I turned and saw Pete walking up the steps

"Evening Pete, what can I do for you?"

"Just seeing how things are going, with your medication." He says and stood in front of me leaning on the railing, I could smell the beer on him

"Haven't started them yet, um cycle hasn't started yet"

He moved a little closer and I slowly backed up, "You know if you ever need anything else, anything at all. I would be happy to help" He tells me putting his hand on my arm. I backed away and headed to the door

"Goodnight Pete" I said shutting it then I locked it leaning against the door and started to cry.

"Phoebe?" I heard and I jumped turning to see my mom standing there, "What is it?"

"Did you grab my gun when you got the other ones?" I asked her and she walked up to me then went into her pantry cupboard grabbing out my gun and handed it to me

"What happened?"

"He hit on me, Pete, normally I would brush it off but I felt a vibe from him, the only other person I felt that vibe from was...Ed" I told her and she looked at me with anger and concern, "I need to safe."


	17. Chapter 17

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

 **Daryl POV...**

As me and Aaron made our way through the field I saw a walker up ahead and shot it then walked over grabbing my crossbow, "There's more of them around here than there used to be. Don't know if any people are-"

"Shh." I cut him off and pointed at the a patch of woods in the distance where I saw a fire going, "Someone is."

* * *

The next day we made our to where the fire was from last night we saw arms and legs on the ground, "Whoever did this took what was left with them. This just happened." I point out and we move forward to see a woman's body tied to a tree with her insides out

"She's tied up. And they fed on her. Tore her apart. This just happened?" Aaron asked me

"Yeah."

"How the hell did this happen?" He asked as I walked over to the body and lifted her head seeing a W on her forehead then it growls at me so i grab my knife killing her.

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

I walked with Eric after bringing the last kid home when we hear glass shattering and I ran towards the noise seeing Rick and Pete fighting on the ground, "No! Stop it!" Jessie yelled trying to get Pete off but he smacked her, I rushed over and helped her up

"Are you ok?" I asked and she nodded her head

"Dad, get off!" Carl yells at him but Rick pushed him away

"Carl!" He looked at me and I shook my head, last thing Rick needs is to hurt his son then I see my mom protect Sam

"Stop it! Stop it right now." Deanna yells at them

"You touch them again or go near Phoebe again and I'll kill you." I hear Rick say

"Damn it, Rick! I said stop." Deanna told him again and Rick pulled out a gun

"Or what? You gonna kick me out?" Rick asked

"Rick" I warned him as I drew mine on him seeing Deanna look over at me

"Put that gun down, Rick." She tells him

"You still don't get it. None of you do! We know what needs to be done and we do it. We're the ones who live. You, you just sit and plan and hesitate. You pretend like you know when you don't. You wish things weren't what they are. Well, you want to live? You want this place to stay standing? Your way of doing things is done. Things don't get better because you- you want them to. Starting right now, we have to live in the real world. We have to control who lives here." He indicated to Pete and I kept my gun on him

"That's never been more clear to me than it is right now."

"Me? Me? You-You mean- you mean me?" Rick asked her and I see Michonne slowly walk over behind him, "Your way is gonna destroy this place. It's gonna get people killed. It's already gotten people killed. And I'm not gonna stand by and just let it happen. If you don't fight, you die. I'm not gonna stand by-" He was cut off when Michonne hit him over the head knocking him out and I put my gun down then Deanna looked at me, I nodded and handed my gun to Michonne.

* * *

"Where'd you get the gun?" I heard Michonne ask Rick as me, Glenn, my mom and Abraham walked into the small room Deanna wanted Rick to stay

"You took it, right? From the armory? Phoebe's too?" My mom asked him and I looked at her, "That was stupid. Why did you do it?" She asked and I looked back at Rick

"Just in case."

"Deanna's planning to have a meeting tonight. For anyone who wants to." Glenn says

"To kick Rick out?" Abraham asked

"To try." I replied

"We don't know that. Maggie's with Deanna right now. She's gonna find out what it is."

"At the meeting, you say you were worried about someone being abused and no one was doing anything about it. You say you took the guns just to be sure that Jessie and Phoebe were safe from a man who wound up attacking you. You say you'll do whatever you want them to. Just tell them a story that they want to hear. It's what I've been doing since I got here."

"Why?" I asked her turning to face her

"Because these people are children and children like stories."

"What happens after all the nice words and they still try to kick him out?" Abraham asked

"They're guarding the armory now." Glenn pointed out

"We still have knives. That's all we'll need against them." My mom said and I shook my head

"Well, tonight at the meeting, if it looks like it's going bad, I whistle. Carol grabs Deanna, Phoebe take Spencer, Michonne, you grab Reg, Glenn and Abraham cover us, watch the crowd." Rick told us

"We can talk to them." Michonne says to him

"Yeah, we will. If we can't get through, we take the three of them and say we'll slit their throats."

"Like at Terminus?" Glenn asked him

"No, we just tell 'em. They give us the armory and it's over."

"Did you want this?" I asked Rick

"No. I hit my limit. I- I screwed up. And here we are. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm just gonna sleep some more." Rick told us and I stormed out heading to the house.

* * *

I laid on my bed and stared at the ceiling, I missed Daryl, I really hoped he was ok, Aaron too. I closed my eyes rolling over to his pillow and inhaled his scent then ended falling asleep. When I woke up I felt sick and ran to the bathroom to throw up, I leaned against the shower after I was done and closed my eyes again then got up and rinsed my mouth out then splashed some water on my face, "Oh crap"

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

"Somebody came through here a while ago." I told Aaron as we made our way through the woods

"If we see them, we hang back, set up the mike, watch and listen."

"For how long?" I asked him

"Until we know. We have to know."

"You've sent people away?" I asked

"Yeah." He answered

"What happened?"

"It was early on. It was three people. Two men and a woman. Davidson was their leader. Smart as hell, strong. I thought they'd work out. They didn't. I brought them in and I had to see them out. So me, Aiden, and Nicholas, we drove them out far... gave them a day's worth of food and water and left them." He explained

"They just went?"

"We had their guns. We had all the guns. I can't make that kind of mistake again." He told me

* * *

"We checked the forest, we checked the roads. We can't find him. Sometimes they slip away. It happens." Aaron pointed out as I looked through the binoculars at some walkers at an abandoned factory, "But... you don't come across something like this every day."

"We do this now, it means we're giving up."

"Home is 50 miles back. It's time to go." He says, I wanted nothing more then to get home to Phoebe but I can't just leave it's not who I am, not the man I want to be for her, "You saw it last night. There's bad people out here."

"That's why we ought to keep looking for the good ones."

"We need more people and we'll find them. But when we do, we'll need to feed them." He says

"All right." I banged my knife on the fence to attract the walkers and we started killing them through the gate then made our way inside and got to the trucks, "Huh, whoa" I hear Aaron say and he bent down to a license plate, Wasn't sure I'd ever see one of these." He says and I turned away, "Hey, listen, I don't like giving up either, but the guy is in a red poncho. You can see him from a mile away. We've gone a lot of miles here. No sign of him. But... if we come away with a trailer full of cans, I'd say that's a good trip." He says walking over

"Here we go." I told him and opened the back of a truck revealing walkers as the back of the other trucks open as well and more walkers came out so we ran back down. Only to find more walkers standing where we came in from, I grabbed my knife and started killing some.

"Over here!" Aaron yelled and we went between to trucks then crawled under one to get away from the ones that were coming towards us

I grabbed a chain that was under the truck, "Come on!" I told him and crawled out then lifted the chain up and whipped it across the heads off 3 walkers killing them then see one grab Aaron so I killed it then we made our way through and I opened the door to a car, "Come on! Go!" I tell him and we get it, he crushed a walkers head with the door and shut it as the walkers piled up on the car

"Glass will hold for a while, right?" He asked

"Maybe. Maybe we can make it so they can't see us. In a couple hours, something will come by, they'll follow it out. There's got to be something in here we can use to block the view. We can cut up these seats." I pointed out and he showed me a note, _TRAP, Bad People coming, DON'T STAY_. I read and looked around. _Damnit_

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

I was walking down the street when I saw my mom walk up to the house they were keeping Pete in, I stared at her with confusion as she walked inside so I followed her.

"Come at me." I hear her tell him and I looked through the window, "No? Yeah? No. The way this has played out, you have a chance." She said and I opened the door

"Mom, what the hell are you doing?" I asked her moving over to them

"What needs to be done, this man hit on you while Daryl is away," She says and looked back at Pete, "See Rick got stopped, but if her husband was here he wouldn't not after you touched her." She tells him and I glance at Pete then back at her

"Mom that's enough, doing this isn't gonna help Rick at all"

"You're here. Your wife's there." She told him ignoring me, "You're a small, weak nothing. And with the world how it is, you're even weaker. Play your cards right, maybe you don't have to die. And I want my dish back clean when you're done." She finished and left, I looked at him then followed her

"Mom. Mom!" I called after her and she stopped then face me, "Are you out of your mind?" I asked walking up to her, "First you act mean to Sam, then you tell Rick he's gonna have to kill the only doctor here, now you go to that man and threaten him. Do you really think that you doing that is gonna change anything? Because it won't and if things go south tonight not only could Rick get kicked out but my child could lose..." I stopped after what I just said and she looked at me

"Child? You're...are you pregnant?"

I looked away from her and sighed, "I'm not sure, I haven't been feeling myself lately and today after I took a nap I got sick and threw up, granted that could have been from anything, but...I don't know" I told her and she moved towards me reaching for my hands but I backed up, "What I do know is my mom is a changed person and it scares the hell out of me." I told her and walked up to her grabbing her hands, "I am watching you change and I don't like it. Please mom, I told you once that I want to help you from falling, let me." I said and she pulled me into a hug, "I love you mom"

"I love you too sweetie, I'm sorry"

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

We still sat in the car and I looked out at the walkers then chuckled, "What?" Aaron asked me

"I came out here to... not feel all closed up back there. Even now, this still feels more like me... than back in them houses. That's pretty messed up, huh?"

"You were trying." He says

"I had to, for Phoebe"

"No, you didn't. Listen, I saw you with your group out there on the road. Then you went off on your own by the barn. Storm hit and you led your people to safety. That was it. I knew I had to bring you people back. You were right. We should have kept looking for that guy in the poncho. I shouldn't have given up. You didn't." He pointed out then I grabbed a smoke reaching for my lighter

"I'll go. I'll lead them out. You make a break for the fence." I told him lighting it

"No, no, no. This was my fault."

"It wasn't a question. And this ain't your decision. It ain't nobody's fault. Just let me finish my smoke first." I said

"No. You don't draw them away. We fight. We go for the fence. We do it together. You do it for your wife. All right?" He asked me and I looked at him, "Whether we make it or not, we do it together. We have to."

"All right." I agreed then snuffed out my smoke, "You ready?" I asked him grabbing my knife

"Yeah."

"We'll go on three. One, two-" I started to count but then a walker gets killed against his window and the door opened, we saw a gap in the walkers and made our way out seeing a guy with a stick standing there as we continued to fight our way through, "Come on. Come on, get in here." I told both of them and once they made it in I closed the fence then shot one then looked at the guy

"That was- oh- thank you. I'm Aaron, this is Daryl." Aaron introduced

"Morgan."

"Why?" I asked him

"Why? Because all life is precious, Daryl."

"Whoever set that trap, they're coming. But I have good news. We do. We have a community not too far from here. Walls, electricity, it's safe. If you'd like to come join us-" Aaron started to tell him but Morgan cut him off

"I thank you. But I'm on my way somewhere. Fact is, I'm lost, so... if you could tell me where we are." He says handing me a map and I look at it, I see Rick's name at the bottom, it was the map Abraham left him. I looked at Morgan.

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

"We're going to start." Deanna told all of us as we gathered in front of their house by a fire

"Can we wait? There's still people coming. Glenn, Rick." Maggie says to her

"We're going to start. It's already dark. We're going to talk about what happened. Not the fight. Not what precipitated it. We're dealing with that. We're going to talk about one of our constables, Rick Grimes. We're going to talk about how he had a pistol he stole from the armory, about how he pointed it at people. And we're going to talk about what he said. I was hoping he'd be here."

"She said he's coming." Michonne told her

"I'm sure he'll be here. And I'm sure we can work this all out." My mom added from next to me then smiled

* * *

"And after being out there and then not being how you were out there... it can drive you crazy. Rick just wants his family to live. He wants all of you to live. Who he is is who you're gonna be... if you're lucky." Michonne defended

"Rick Grimes saved my life over and over. There's terrifying people out there. And he rescued me from them. People like me, people like us need people like him. I know what happened last night was scary. And I'm sure he's sorry for that. But maybe we should listen to what he was saying." My mom defended, I knew she was just putting on a show to help, but it was still weird

"Simply put, there is a vast ocean of shit you people don't know shit about. Rick knows every fine grain of said shit... and then some." Abraham says

"Phoebe?" Deanna asked me and I looked around

"I knew Rick before the beginning, like I told you" I indicated to Deanna, "Like Michonne says he just wants his family to live, so do all of you. We have all lost people out there just you all lost people. I lost my sister," I tell them and I felt my mom shift next to me, "Rick supported me and Daryl when we wanted to keep looking for her and everyone else wanted to give up. He lost his wife, my friend, and I stepped up to help him not just with his newborn baby but with pulling him back from where he was falling. Rick stole a gun, yes. But he would never have shot it. He's a good guy, he lead us farther then I thought he would and not once gave up the fight. He saved us, me and my mom wouldn't be standing here today if it wasn't for him" I finished

"Maggie?"

"My father respected Rick Grimes. Rick is a father, too. He's a man with a good heart who feels the things he does, the things he has to do. And all of us who were together before this place, no matter when we found each other, we're family now. Rick started that. And you won't stop it. You can't. And you don't want to. This community, you people...that family...you want to be a part of it, too." Maggie tells everyone

"Before we hear from anyone else, I-I would like to share something in the spirit of transparency. Father Gabriel came to see me the day before yesterday and he said our new arrivals can't be trusted, that they were dangerous, that they would put themselves before this community. And not one day later, Rick seemed to demonstrate all the things Father Gabriel said. I had hoped Gabriel would be here tonight." Deanna told everyone

"I don't see him here, Deanna. So you're just saying what someone said." Jessie told her, "Did you tape him?" She asked

"He's not here." Maggie pointed out to Deanna

"Neither is Rick."

"Excuse me" Maggie says and walked away

* * *

"I just want to keep my family safe." Tobin says to Deanna, "You know? And I don't even know what that means anymore, but if it means that we've got to get rid of-" He got cut off when we hear footsteps and I see Rick walk over carrying a body then dropped it in front of everyone.

"There wasn't a guard on the gate. It was open." Rick told us

"I asked Gabriel to close it." Spencer says to Deanna

"Go." She told him and he left

"I didn't bring it in. It got inside on its own. They always will-the dead and the living, because we're in here. And the ones out there...they'll hunt us. They'll find us. They'll try to use us. They'll try to kill us. But we'll kill them. We'll survive. I'll show you how. You know, I was thinking-I was thinking how many of you do I have to kill to save your lives?" He asked and I looked at my mom, "But I'm not gonna do that. You're gonna change. I'm not sorry for what I said last night. I'm sorry for not saying it sooner. You're not ready, but you have to be. Right now, you have to be. Luck runs out."

"You're not one of us." Pete tells him walking up to us and I see Michonne's sword in his hands, "You're not one of us!"

"Pete, you don't want to do this." Reg tells him rushing over to him

"Get the hell away from me, Reg."

"Pete, just stop." Reg Begged

"Get away from me."

"Reg. Reg." Deanna pleaded and I moved over to her to protect her

"Get away. Get away!" Pete yelled at him

"Now, Pete, stop. Pete-"

"Get away!" Pete yells and pushed Reg away but ended up cutting his throat with the sword, I put my hand over my mouth as Abraham and Michonne went and tackled Pete

"No, no! Oh, no, no!" Deanna screamed and grabbed Reg as he fell to the ground

"This is him!" Pete yelled

"Shut up!" Abraham told him

"This is him!"

"Oh, God! Oh, my love. My love, my love," Deanna sobbed, "No, my love, no. No, my love."

"It's him! This is him!" Pete yelled again and my mom came over to me wrapping her arms around me as I fought back tears

"Rick...do it." Deanna told him and without hesitation Rick turned and shot Pete

"Rick?" I hear someone ask and I looked up to see Aaron and Daryl standing there with another guy, and I looked at Daryl then back down at Reg and Deanna. Everything was gonna change now.


	18. Chapter 18

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

 _ **Flashback,**_

"Are you okay?" Daryl asked me walking over to our bed as I sat on it sitting next to me

"Yeah...I think so"

"What happened?" He asked

"Rick attacked Pete because he was abusive to Jessie and the kids, Pete also um...hit on me." I told him and he clenched his fists standing up, "I asked my mom for my gun," I added and he looked at me

"Why?"

"Because of the vibe I got from him, I wanted to be safe then sorry. After Rick and him ended up in the street Rick pulled out the gun my mom gave him and started going off threatening, well not really threatening but basically saying things had to change so I pulled mine on him. So to make a long story short Deanna gathered everyone to talk about whether or not to send Rick outside the walls then Pete came with Michonne's sword, when Reg tried to calm him down Pete pushed him and ended up killing him. You know the rest after that" I finished he sighed then walked over squatting down in front of me and grabbed my hand

"I'm sorry, I left and you had this happen."

"Don't be sorry, you were doing something to make yourself not feel trapped. I can't ask you to stay here when you don't feel comfortable just to protect me." I said and he kissed me

"Is everything else ok though?"

I sighed and gave him a sad smile

* * *

 _ **Now...**_

"Be safe?" I asked Daryl as they got ready to head to the landfill that Rick and Morgan found a huge herd of walkers at

"I will, you too" He says and I kiss him, I didn't want to let him go but he refused to have me go with.

"I love you"

"I love you too" I tell him and he got on his bike then they all head out

* * *

 _ **Flashback...**_

"My team...we saw it early on, back when we were on one of those first scouts, finding out what was around here. There was a camp at the bottom. The people, they must have blocked the exits with one of those trucks back when everything started to go bad. They didn't make it. They were all roamers. Maybe a dozen of them." Heath told us as we gathered around in Deanna's house

"No one's been back since?" Maggie asked him

"DC, every town worth scavenging are all in the other direction. And I never really felt like having a picnic next to the camp that ate itself."

"So all the while the walkers have been drawn by the sound and they're making more sound and they're drawing more in." Michonne pointed out

"And here we are. Now what I'm proposing, I know it sounds risky, but walkers are already slipping through the exits. One of the trucks keeping the walkers in could go off the edge any day now. Maybe after one more hard rain. That exit sends them east. All of them. Right at us. This isn't about if it gives, it's when. It's gonna happen. That's why we have to do this soon." Rick says

"This is- I don't even have another word for it. This is terrifying. All of it. But it doesn't sound like there's any other way." My mom pointed out

"Maybe there is. I mean, couldn't we just build up the weak spots?" Carter asked Rick, "I could draw up plans. I worked on the wall with Reg. Construction crew- we can try and make it safe."

"Even if we could, the sound of those walkers is drawing more and more every day. Building up the exits won't change that."

"We're gonna do what Rick says, the plan he's laid out." Deanna says to us looking out the window

"I told you all, we're gonna have Daryl leading them away." Rick tells us and I grabbed Daryl's hand

"Me, too. I'll take a car, ride next to him. Can't just be him. I'll keep 'em coming, Daryl keeps 'em from getting sloppy." Sasha brought up

"I'll go with her. It's a long way to white-knuckle it solo." Abraham adds

"I want you to stay here" Daryl whispered to me and I looked at him

"Daryl..."

"No, I need you safe. Can't risk it" He says and I sighed then nodded my head

"We'll have two teams. One on each side of the forest helping manage this thing. We're gonna have a few people on watch from now on. Rosita, Spencer, and Holly. So they're out. So who's in?" Rick asked everyone

"I'll keep watch too." I said to him and looked at Daryl, "I have to do something" I tell him and he nodded

"Me." Michonne added

"I'm in." Glenn tells him

"I'd like to help as well." Gabriel says

"No. Who else?" Rick asked and I looked at him then Gabriel, "We need more."

"There's got to be another play. We can't just control that many." Carter says

"I said it before, walkers herd up. They'll follow a path if something's drawing them. That's how we can get 'em all at once."

"So, what? We're supposed to just take your word for it? We're all supposed to just fall in line behind you after..." Carter says but Rick cut him off

"After what?"

"After you wave a gun around screaming, pointing it at people. After you shoot a man in the face. After you-" Carter says

"Enough!" Deanna yells at him

"I'll do it." Heath says

"Me, too." Francine agreed

"Whatever you need, I'm in." Tobin adds

"Now who else?" Deanna asked

"I'll go." Nicholas says and I see the pissed off look on Glenn's face, "We have to do this. I need to help."

"You sure you can handle it?" Rick asked him

"You need people."

"We'll make this work. We'll keep this place safe. Keep our families safe. We will." Rick says to us

"The plan. Go through it again." Carter tells him

"Man, he just said it." Daryl says

"Every part again. The exact plan."

* * *

"He got Noah killed?" Tara asked me and Maggie as we walked over to her while everyone else made sand bags and prepared a wall

"He did. He did more than that. He lured Glenn into the woods and tried to kill him." Maggie told her

"What the hell?" Tara asked her

"Yeah. Glenn told me I could tell everyone if that's what I wanted to do. Could get Nicholas exiled. He'd die out there. Could have done that. You could do that now."

"He got Noah killed and he tried to kill Glenn?"

"Glenn saves people. Even people like that." I said

"I couldn't accept it either. But then I thought about you. How we were on different sides of that fence on the worst day of my life. And now you're one of the most important people in the world to us. Things can get better. We can make them better. You tell me what you want to do." Maggie added

"I'm just gonna follow your lead, okay?" Tara says and we smile then I hug her

"I'm glad you're ok"

* * *

"Carter, don't. You can't." We hear Olivia say outside the door of the armory and Rick opens the door

"What the hell is going on? What are you doing?" Rick asked as we see Carter standing there holding a gun at Eugene

"I'm taking this place back from you."

"That's what you were talking about in here?" Rick asked

"That's what he was talking about." Tobin told him

"See, I would have- I would have set up some lookouts. That would have been the smart thing. You know, if I happened to-" Rick says then moves to Carter taking the gun then knocked him to the ground pointing the gun at Carter, "You really think you're gonna take this community from us? From Glenn? From Michonne? From Daryl? From Phoebe? From me? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

"It was just me." Carter tells him

"What?"

"It was- it was just me. Just- just kill me." Carter says to him

"Rick." I said and he looked at me

"I'm good. I'm good." He tells me then uncocked the gun then handed it to me, "You can try to work with us. You can try to survive. Would you do that?" Rick asked Carter

* * *

 _ **Now...**_

 **Carol POV...**

"Celery soup. It's been here since the start. You're very brave." Olivia told me

I chuckled at her, "Well, I'm hoping the paprika will mask the soup's celeryness."

"Then you'd be stuck with something that tastes like paprika. No, thank you." Shelly says

"Well, I just figured since we're running low on staples, I'd try to use a few things nobody seems to want. I used to make Ed these spring cleaning casseroles just to empty the pantry. I made some miracles happen with water chestnuts. Besides I'm making it for Phoebe, she's come down with a bug." I tell them

"That's your daughter right? The one married to Daryl?" Olivia asked me and I nodded my head smiling at her, "She's a nice girl, you did right with her. I hope she feels better." She told me and I gave her a fake smile then continued looking on the shelf

"Talk about miracles, that recipe for cola canned ham. Mmm. Ms. Peletier, you are an honest to goodness hero." Erin told me and I chuckled

"Ugh." Shelly groaned from behind me

"Something wrong, Shelly?" Erin asked her

"It's just those old noodles. I mean, I tell you, if someone would just find me one of those machines, I swear we would all be eating like we were on a tour of Tuscany."

"You know, Shel, I could teach you how to make pasta with your own two hands. But you'd have to promise not to smoke in the house. It's just a disgusting habit. And it kills you. If you ask me, there are too many things trying to do that already, right?" I asked them

"Right." Erin says and I smile then leave

* * *

After I put the soup in the oven to keep it warm until Phoebe was done watching the children I looked out my window and saw Shelly standing on her lawn smoking. Just then I saw a man run up to her and kill her, "Phoebe" I whispered and ran out of the house.

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

As I sat there watching the 4 children I had play with toys together in my living room I hear screaming outside, I went over to the window and saw people running around getting killed by outsiders, "Shit" I whispered

"Mrs. Dixon, what is it?" the oldest boy Kayden asked me

"Umm...it's nothing, but come here, all of you" I told them and they followed me. I brought them down into the basement we had and checked around, "Okay, I need you all to stay down here and stay quiet."

"Why?" Kayden asked me

"Some bad people got in and I need to help, but don't worry I'll make sure no one finds you" I tell them and started to walk away

"No, no don't leave us" One little kid cried and I stopped in my tracks

 _"No, no, no don't leave me"_ I remembered Sophia saying to me and I turned to look at them, "I promise I will be right back," I tell them and reached into my pocket pulling out my badge, I don't why I still have this stupid thing, "Kayden I want you to take this," I hand it to him and he looks at me, "It's gonna make you brave, brave enough to protect everyone ok?" I asked him and he nodded his head, "Now I'm gonna make sure no one can open that door, but I need you guys to be as quiet as you can and wait until I come back. Promise?" I asked them and they all nodded their heads. I went back up the stairs and shut the door behind me then hit it a few times with a book end jamming it so no one could turn it. Just then I hear glass shatter in the distance, "1..2...3...Eric" I said to myself grabbing a butchers knife then headed out of the house.

I ducked behind another house when I saw someone coming, as they got closer I tripped them and the outsider looked at me, I quickly bent down and stabbed him in the throat then the skull and continued moving, I see another guy kill someone and I snuck up behind him jumping on him then stabbed him in the head as I got closer to Eric's house.

"Where are you pretty boy?" I hear someone call inside his house and I listened to their footsteps then made my way to the backdoor and opened it quietly. When I got inside I saw the person go upstairs then as I started to follow him I hear a noise come from a hallway closet.

"Eric?" I whispered and he lightly knocked on the door so I opened it, "Come on" I said and just as he walked out the door got hit and the outsider swung his knife down at me but I ducked moving out of the way

"Phoebe!" Eric yelled as I kicked the person in the gut but they caught my foot and punched me across the face knocking me to the ground

"Get upstairs, go!" I yelled at him, as he went to run past us the man tried to stop him but I got up and jumped on his shoulders putting my hand on his neck and he pushed my back into the wall, I fell down off his shoulders then saw my knife on the floor, I kicked him in the knee then grabbed the knife and stabbed him in the head. I sat against the wall for a moment then headed upstairs, "Eric?" I asked and he opened the bedroom door

"Are you ok?" He asked and I nodded my head

"I'm okay"

"The kids?" He asked

"I put them in the basement of my house and jammed the door knob, now I need to get you safe. Where's Aaron?"

"I-I don't know but you can't go out there, you have to..." He started to say but I cut him off

"I'm gonna protect you first now come on" I said grabbing his hand and brought him downstairs, "Now stay quiet" I told him as I saw someone run by the window so I moved us back

"Phoebe.."

"Eric please" I begged and he nodded his head, when the coast was clear we headed to the door then headed out of the house. As I shut the door someone swung an axe down hitting the wall neck to my head, I quickly whipped my elbow back and hit the person in the nose.

"Phoebe!" Eric yelled

"Bitch!" the person yelled then grabbed my hair slamming my head against the door then threw me onto the porch, I started to crawl away but they grabbed my foot pulling me back then the next thing I knew a gunshot went off and they fall down

I looked up and saw someone standing there with a blue hood over their head and a cloth covering their mouth just then my mom pulls it down, "Mom? What the..."

"There's no time, here" She hands me my gun as I stand up, "You need to get some place safe right now"

"No I need to help."

"Damn it Phoebe just do what I say" She says and shoots her gun, I turn around to see someone fall to the groung, "Go! Now!" She says and took off

"Like hell" I whispered to myself, "Come on" I said to Eric and we got off the porch then moved behind the houses seeing another person get killed so I shot my gun killing them then continued moving until I bumped into someone, I looked up and saw Aaron

"Aaron!" Eric yelled and moved over to him

"Come on" Aaron told us handing Eric a rifle

"You guys go I need to get back to the kids" I told them and Aaron shook his head, "I'm just gonna get them and meet up with you." They both looked at me, "Don't argue just go" I told them and they rushed away as I headed back to my house then went inside breaking the door knob and I went down the stairs, "Kids?" I asked and they came out from behind a shelf, "Thank god. Come on you're coming with me"

"Where?" Kayden asked me

"The infirmary, come on" I told them and they rushed over to me and we walked up the stairs, "Okay, hold the hand of the person in front of you and follow me. Stay low and stay quiet" I tell them and they nodded holding hands. We walked out of the house and I looked around, no one was around so I brought them down the steps to the back of the houses, I saw the infirmary only a few places down from us, "Okay remember, low and quiet" I whispered to them and we moved through the grass getting closer to the infirmary when I saw Aaron, Eric and Rosita rush inside carrying someone then we made our way over, I knocked and saw Eric peak out then opened the door, "Okay inside quick" I told the kids then we hear a loud horn go off, "The hell is that?" I asked but Eric pulled me inside. Denise was working on someone with Aaron, Eric and Rosita.

"What about the air horn? What's happening?" Denise asked and I moved the kids to the back room then came back out

"I need to help. I need to try." Aaron says to Eric and he looked at me

"I got him" I reassured Aaron

"Denise, I'm gonna have to go, too." Rosita told her and I took over what she was doing as she grabbed her gun

"So do I." Tara adds

"You got dizzy swinging a hammer. Somebody's got to guard this place." Denise told her

"You can handle it."

"I can't!" Denise tells her

"I also believe my services would be best rendered right very here." Eugene says

"What?" Aaron asked him

"I also believe my services-"

"Shut up! You're safe here. Come on." Rosita says then her and Aaron leave.

* * *

"What's happening with her?" Tara asked Denise as I stood by the door to the back room I had the children in looking over at Holly laying on the table

"She's bleeding internally. Probably severed her femoral artery. She's dying."

"Okay, so the artery's severed. Can it be fixed?" Tara asked

"Maybe by a surgeon."

"You were gonna be a surgeon." Tara pointed out

"But I'm not. She was protecting this place. She was guarding us. That's why we're here, for each other." Tara defended, "You're afraid? I don't care. Help her. Try! Help her!" Tara begged

"You don't want to be a coward. I know." Eugene told Denise

"I need an abdominal binder. We're gonna pull the knife." She says and they get to work

* * *

After awhile everything was over, the parents of the kids came to the infirmary thanking me for keeping their kids safe, and I smiled at them, Kayden went to hand me my badge back, "No you keep it, you were very brave today. I pass it on to you" I told him and he smiled then left and I walked out shortly after seeing Maggie and Deanna walking through the roads, "Maggie!" I yelled running over to her and pulled her into a hug, "Are you okay?" I asked her and she nodded her head, "Deanna?"

"I'm fine, thank you"

"Phoebe!" I hear my mom yell and I ran over to her then she pulled me into a hug, "I told you hide"

"I know but I couldn't...I just couldn't" I tell her and she put her hand on my face.

* * *

 **An hour ago...**

 **Daryl POV...**

"Rick!" I called over my radio

 _"I'm here."_

"What's going on back there?" I asked him

 _"Half of them broke off. They're going toward Alexandria."_

 _Phoebe_

"Towards you?" Abraham asked him

 _"We ran ahead. There's a horn or something. Loud, coming from the east. It's not stopping."_

"I'm gonna gas it up, turn back." I told him, I needed to get to her

 _"We have it. You keep going."_

"They're gonna need our help." I pointed out

 _"Gotta keep the herd moving."_

"Not if it's going down, we don't." I said

 _"The rest of that herd turns around, the bad back there gets worse."_ He told me and I fought with myself, I need to get to Phoebe, I have to keep her safe, _"Daryl?"_ He asked and I sighed

"Yeah, I heard you." I tell him, "Rick?"

 _"Yeah?"_

"You keep her safe" I told him

 _"I will"_

* * *

"Hey, we gone five miles out yet?" I asked Sasha and Abraham

"Give or take some yardage. You got a reason for asking?" Abraham asked me

"Next intersection we're gonna spin around and go back."

"The plan is to go 15 more." Sasha says

"Yeah, I'm gonna change that. Five's gonna have to work."

"The magic number's 20. That's the mission. That's making sure they're off munching on infirm raccoons the rest of their undead lives instead of any of us." Abraham said to me

"You want to go help Phoebe, we can't stop you. But without you, they could stop us." Sasha added

I saw a sign for Alexandria and I thought about Phoebe being there without me and half a herd coming towards her and the rest of them, "Nah, I got faith in you." I told them and sped up

"Daryl!" Sasha yelled but I kept going

* * *

 _"Daryl?"_ Rick called over the radio

"I'm here."

 _"Won't be long now. They're almost here. I'll get them going your way again."_ He told me

 _"How 'bout that, Daryl? He's gonna be coming our way."_ Sasha says

 _"There's gunfire coming from back home. We gotta sit with it and hope they can handle it. I think they can. They have to. We keep going forward for them. Can't turn back 'cause we're afraid."_

 _"We ain't afraid."_ Abraham says

 _"This is for them. Going back now before it's done, that'd be for us. The herd has to be almost here"_ Rick mentioned and I felt a horrible pain in my gut, I knew he was right but I can't leave Phoebe there, not now. Just then I hear gunshots over the radio, "Rick? Rick?" I asked but didn't get an answer so I sped up then eventually stopped, "Rick?" nothing, "Rick?" Still no answer so I took off again

* * *

 _ **Now...**_

 **Phoebe POV...**

"The town was overrun. He split off with Nicholas. He had this idea that...if he lit a fire, it would stop the walkers from coming here. I tried to go instead. I wanted to. The fire never got lit. We had to keep going. I'm sorry." Michonne informed Maggie about Glenn and Maggie put her hand over her mouth, I put my hand on her shoulder, "He said if he got stuck, he would find a way to send us a signal."

"A signal?" Maggie asked her

"Open the gate!" We suddenly hear Rick yell from outside the wall, "Open the gate! "Open the gate now!" He continued to yell as me, Michonne and Maggie rushed over opening it, we see him fall to the ground then get back up and run inside then we shut just as a herd pushed against it and we shut the other gate

* * *

"You can hear it. Some of you saw it." Rick told all of us walking over as the others propped up tall wooden poles to hold the wall, "They got back here, half of them. Still enough to surround us 20 deep. Look, I know you're scared. You haven't seen anything like this. You haven't been through anything like this. But we're safe for now. The panel the truck hit seems intact. We reinforced it just in case. Either way, the wall's gonna hold together. Can you?" Rick asked them, "The others, they're gonna be back. Daryl, Abraham, Sasha, they have vehicles. They're gonna lead 'em away, just like the others." Rick says and put his hand on my shoulder, I nodded my head trying to hold myself together, "And Glenn and Nicholas are gonna walk back through the front gate after." He adds walking away and I wrapped my arm around Maggie's shoulder, "They know what they're doing, and we know what we need to do. We keep noise to a minimum. Pull our blinds at night. Even better, keep the lights out. We'll try to make this place as quiet as a graveyard, see if they move on."

"This place is a graveyard" Francine told him

"The quarry broke open and those walkers were heading this way." Aaron spoke up, "All of them. The plan that Rick put into place stopped that from happening. He got half of them away. I was out there recruiting with Daryl. I wanted to try to get into a cannery and scavenge, and Daryl wanted to keep looking for people. We did what I wanted... and we wound up in a trap set by those people. And I lost my pack. They must've followed our tracks. Those people who attacked us... they found their way back here because of me."

"There'll be more to talk about." Rick adds and I see Deanna walk away

"Deanna? Deanna?" Tobin called but she kept walking

* * *

 **Maggie POV...**

"You're going out?" Aaron asked me walking into the armory as I loaded a clip, "The flashlights, the rebar, the rope. You lower them off the wall a good distance apart, maybe spin them. That way, the walkers are drawn to each one and you open up a path. Now you're gearing up. Just waiting for dark, right? What happens when you twist an ankle jumping down? Hmm?" He asked and I looked at him putting the bag over my shoulder, "Or you just get slowed down by one of them and then you have to deal with all of them? I can't let you do this."

"You can't stop me." I told him starting to walk away

"I'm going to help you. And I know a safer way out."

* * *

"I thought you said we weren't going over." I told him as we walked towards the wall but he stopped

"We're not. We're going under." He said and bent down to a drain, "This leads to a sewer that was part of the old neighborhood that was here before they built this up. It'll take us under the wall...and hopefully past the walkers."

"Thanks...but I'm going on my own from here." I say to him as he stands up

"Maggie..."

"No."

"Please." He begged, "I can't-I can't watch more names go up on that wall." He mentioned and we got in

"If he's alive-"

"If?" He asked me

"He told Michonne he would've found some way to signal us if he got out. If he's alive or he's hurt or trapped, maybe taken. If he's alive, he needs my help. That's why I'm doing this. And if he's dead, I don't want to be waiting on him. None of this is your fault. You don't need to do this." I tell him

"People are dead. I was a part of that. And I have to live with that. I haven't been down here since the beginning. This ladder must've fallen a long time ago.

"Let's try and get it out of here." I said and grabbed the ladder then he did, "On three, ready? One, two, three." We lift but nothing, "One, two, three." We try again and it jerked causing Aaron to fall back, "Aaron!"

"Ah. I'm okay. The ladder caught me." He said then we here growling, I grabbed my knife and just as I was about to kill it another one appeared and I stumbled backwards as it reached for me pinning me to the sewer wall, I tried to grab it but the skin peeled away then Aaron gets up and kills it

"You okay?" He asked me

"Yeah. Thank you." I tell him and look at his head, "Aaron... your head. Come here." I say to him grabbing some gauze out of my bag putting it to his head as he winced, "This could need stitches. Aaron, just go back."

"No."

"Yes." I insisted

"I was just there for you."

"I could have done it." I said

"Just lead the way. Please?" He asked and I sighed then we continued

* * *

We come up on a gate in the sewer and walked over to it, I hear walkers growling, "We're still too close." I point out

"We just have to get through a few of them, then we're gone." He says trying the gate but i stopped him

"No."

"You ready?" He asked me

"No, we can't."

"You can stay. I'll go." He told me

"No." but he kept trying, "No!"

"Maggie."

"It's over!" I yelled and walkers appeared on the other side, "I burned his last picture of him because I said I wasn't gonna need it anymore. Because I was never gonna be away from him again." I tell him fighting tears, "I'm pregnant. He didn't want me to go out there and I said yes. And if I would've gone...if I was with him, maybe I could've helped him. I don't know if he's alive. He would've shown me by now. That's what Michonne said. I just want to see his face. I can't. I don't get to know what will happen. I won't get to know why it happened, what I did right or wrong. Not now. I have to live with that. You do, too." I cried and he hugged me, we stayed like that for a few moments

"So, you're pregnant too huh?" He asked and I looked at him confused

"Who else is pregnant?" I asked him

* * *

We stood both stood watch that night in silence when I finally spoke up, "How did you find out?" I asked him

"Oh um...she told Eric" He says and I continued looking forward then set my gun down

"I'll be right back" I tell him climbing down and walked over to the wall that had the names on it pouring water on Glenn's then started wiping as Aaron walked over and helped by doing the same to Nicholas's name

"When he gets back, it's worth mentioning that Aaron, Erin, works for a boy or a girl, depending on the spelling." He says and I give a small smile looking at Glenn's name, "Just saying"

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

I sat on the couch on the living room staring off into space when my mom walked over sitting in front of me, "You ok? What did Denise say?" She asked and I sniffled shaking my head and she grabbed my hand

"She said everything's fine, nothings wrong." I told her and sighed, "I'm scared mom, not just because of the walkers outside but because...what if he doesn't come back?"

"You can't think like that sweetie. He'll be back, look how many times he came back to you." She says and I give a sad smile

"I hope you're right. I don't want to have to raise this baby without him, not after we worked so hard for it" I said and she pulled me into a hug.

"You won't, he'll be back, and that baby is going to be loved and protected." She says and I cried into her shoulder

"I love you mom"

"I love you too sweetie" She replied and then we just sat there in silence in the dark. He told me once before he always feels me and that's how he knew I was still alive after the prison. I can feel him too, I put my hand on my stomach, he will be back. I have to stay strong.


	19. Chapter 19

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

 **A/N: Shout to Laura201112, my email got flooded with your reviews. Thank you so much I'm glad you love this story and I hope I'll continue to entertain all of you :)**

 **Daryl POV...**

 _"All right."_ Sasha says over the radio

"That's 20?" I asked her

 _"It will be. 642 is a mile ahead. We gotta put distance between us and them before the turnoff."_

 _"So floor it."_ Abraham added

"All right, try to keep up." I tell them

 _"Daryl, have you looked at this car? Believe me, we want to get back there, too."_ Sasha says and we turn down the road driving for a bit then suddenly there's gunshots all around us, my bike tobbled over causing me to fall off, I pick it up getting back on then drove off again with a couple cars following me.

I'd lost both the shooters, and Sasha and Abraham. I was hurt, and needed to fix myself up even though I wanted to go make sure Sasha and Abraham were okay first but I couldn't. I drove into a burnt-up forest, dropped my bike once I was far enough in, and let myself fall to the ground.

The sound of a snarl had me look to my right where a walker which was barely anything but bone was laying on the ground, a biker's helmet on its head, covering its face. I let my head fall as I laid there knowing it couldn't get me or move and looked up at the sky, catching my breath. I couldn't get my mind off home. I couldn't stop myself from wondering about Phoebe, I knew there was nothing I could do as long as I was out here, so instead of worrying about her, I got up finally.

I pulled my bike up before getting a good grip of the handles so I could push it through the forest. I had no idea where I was going, but was moving anyway. I knew that was the only way I was getting home. Only thing was... I wasn't moving fast enough.

Finding a bush, I dropped the bike and used the eaves to hide it. I'd come back for it later. For now, I couldn't have it holding me back. I'd find the others and then get the bike.

Pulling out the walkie, I stepped over the bike. "Sasha. Abraham, you there?" I called, but got nothing back.

I took my glove off, seeing that it was soaked in blood. Moving carefully, I pulled my jacket off as well, as I tried to get a look at my arm that I landed on. I was going to need stitches. With the blood, I couldn't see much, but I knew that at least.

I draped the jacket over my bike and I stopped at the sound of something moving behind me. Pulling the bush leaves over both my bike and jacket I then grabbed my crossbow and started towards the noise, needing to know if it was a walker, one of the shooters, or something else.

As I rounded a tree I found two girls who looked like they were close to Phoebe's age. One was taller than the other by not much, and had long, straight, dark hair. The other had short blonde hair. Both stood at the sight of me, their hands in the air.

"You found us, okay?" the dark haired one said. "Here we are. We earned what we took." her eyes flicked over my shoulder then.

I spun around but was hit across the head before I could do anything else.

* * *

I was in and out of consciousness. I knew it was dark. I knew I was tied up. I knew there was a fire in front of me. I opened my eyes just enough to see that there was now a guy with the girls, carving away at a small wooden thing. He was thin like the others, clearly in bad shape. Covered in dirt like the girls as well. His dark blonde hair was tied up and ratty, which made him look even worse.

If they hadn't attacked me, I would have brought them back home...

"Probably just another soldier from one of the outposts." the guy spoke to the girls. "Probably hates him, too."

One of the girls, the dark haired one, reached for my crossbow while I was still pretty out of it.

"You know how to use one?" she asked the guy she was with as she tucked my crossbow into a bag.

"Yeah. Never liked using them to hunt." he answered.

I was still pretty dazed, and it was still night. I wasn't sure how long I'd been like this, but the others were still there, talking to themselves.

"We pick up Patty, then we're gone. Okay?" the guy told the girls. "This is the last day we're gonna live like this."

I woke up, with a head. It was morning, the sound of crickets chirping coming from everywhere. My back and neck hurt from how I'd been sitting last night, and my wrists ached from being tied.

"Get up." the guy, who was crouched in front of me, tabbed my leg. "Hey! Get up!" he cocked his gun, pointing it at my head. "We're movin'. Here's the deal. You don't say shit and I don't kill you."

"I ain't who you think." I told him.

He moved the gun closer to my face. "Say something else." he nodded. "Go ahead." when I kept my mouth shut, he grabbed my ties, pulling me to my feet. "Follow them." he gestured towards the girls who then started to walk ahead while the guy stayed behind me, gun to my back.

These people were clearing not going to let me go. So, I had to think. I had to figure out how I could get away...I just had to wait and think until something came up.

The dark haired one reached into the big duffel bag she was carrying and pulled out a water bottle, offering it to the blonde. "Here. Drink the rest."

The blonde took the bottle and looked down at it. "We should save it."

"We'll find some more. Drink." the dark haired one insisted. "You're supposed to stay hydrated. It all works together."

"Yeah, it does." the blond sighed before taking a drink of the water.

When she handed it back, the brunette stopped walking, offering me the last bit of water. "Have it." she nodded.

When I didn't take it, the guy grabbed it off her, putting it in my face. "We don't need you falling down. Drink.

I did as they said and took the bottle. These people weren't thinking straight. They were on the run from someone, I'd gotten that much, and weren't in good shape. The last thing I needed was to piss them off.

"They find us, maybe we give you to them." the guy told me as I finished the water. "They let us call it even. See, we're reasonable people. Everybody's got their code. You feel you got to kneel, that's far enough. We don't." he took the empty bottle from me. "Let's go."

* * *

"Can't believe we're back." the blonde spoke up as we continued to walk through the burnt down forest.

"It's not home anymore." the brunette told her. "It's better than where we were."

"This is a pit stop." the guy added, still walking behind me. "We pick up Patty, nothing more than that."

"How'd you do it?" the blonde asked, looking around her.

"You saw where we left the truck?" the guy asked, getting a nod from the blonde. "We opened the valve and drove all the way in from Farmview Road, ran from the tree line till we got to the pavement, lit up a matchbook from the Sweetwater and dropped it in on the trail, and we just ran for the car. Got in, and the dead ones were there. They were beatin' on the hood and then... And then boom! Knocked them on their asses and I took an axe to each one."

"We just watched it go up." the brunette added. "No more moans, no more of that wailing. It was just the fire, just burning them all away."

"You did all this?" I asked, speaking up

"It was right at the start." the brunette told me. "Everything stopped. TV, the radio. We were here. The forest was full of them. And the others one in town, they were drawn to it. They just walked right into the flames. We got most of them. Thought we ended it for us, and she was in D.C." she gestured to the blonde. "We thought everyone was fighting them wherever they were."

"Yeah, we thought that was what everybody was doing." the guy nodded. "Fighting it, so we'd all win together... We were stupid." he sighed, moving ahead.

I stopped in my tracks. "Y'all don't think you're being stupid right now?"

They all stopped, the guy pulling out his gun as he moved towards me again, aiming at my face. "you're saying I should kill you? I mean it. Are you gonna try and pull something on us? Or are we just being thick here by not removing all doubt? Right now, by me not pulling this trigger, is that a mistake? I'm serious. I really wanna know. You made the choice to kill for someone else. To have them own you for a roof over your head and three squares. So maybe I'm not considering all aspects here. You tell me. Am I being stupid?"

"No." I answered after a pause.

I couldn't let these people kill me. I couldn't let them keep me from getting home. To Phoebe. If that meant I stayed tied up until my moment came, then I would. If that mean doing and saying what they wanted, then I would.

I shifted on my feet. "Look, I got somewhere to be. I got people waitin' on me. Someone who means a lot to me. We can make a deal. I could help you out." I offered.

"You're one of them. You're hurt and you're alone, and you'd say anything." the guy wasn't having any of it. "We should've never trust you people to begin with." he gestured for me to move. "Go on. Keep moving."

* * *

We came to the end of the trees. Here, they were green and still alive. The fire hadn't gotten this far. As we stepped out, into a small opening, the others moved to the fence only a few feet away as they looked down at the sight in front of them.

"Son of a bitch." the guy scanned the grounds of the fuel company we stood by, looking at all the walkers inside the fence. "Patty."

"She could be..." the brunette shifted on her feet as she sighed.

"No, she's gone." the guy shook his head.

The brunette nodded. "Then we make another plan."

The guy turned to her. "Yeah, we get out of here. That's the plan."

"Then that's the plan." the brunette shrugged.

"You guys don't have to do this for me." the blonde spoke up.

"Look, it was the right thing for all of us." the brunette insisted.

The blonde looked to her. "Is this the right thing? Even if just you guys went back now, if you just told them that it was me..."

"No." the brunette shook her head. "We'll find a way."

"Just think about it." The blonde wasn't letting it go.

The brunette wasn't giving in either. "No."

"Look, maybe we don't get as far-" the guy started.

But suddenly the blonde collapsed, the other two moving to help her.

Now was my time. I grabbed their bag that they'd dropped and made a run for the trees, hearing them calling after and shoot at me as I kept running off, knowing I had to get as far away as possible.

* * *

I jumped over a fallen trunk, getting to the floor and hiding behind it and I pulled on the rope around my wrists with my teeth. Using the trunk as well, I managed to get my hands free before reaching for the bag and pulling out the walking.

Panting hard and fast, I called over the radio. "Sasha, Abraham, are you there?" static was all I got back.

A twig snapped and a walker moaned from behind me. I turned and saw it walking this way, getting closer.

Moving quickly, I reached back into the bag, trying to get my crossbow out. But they'd tucked it in good, and as much as I tried, it wasn't budging.

The walker kept coming, getting closer and closer. My heart was now hammering in my chest as I struggled with the crossbow. Pulling and tugging, adjusting the bag in any way I could, I tried to get the crossbow out. Finally, it was out and luckily it was set, so as I turned and leaned back, the walker now only a few steps away from me, I pulled the trigger killing it in an instant.

Letting myself relax a little, but not completely, I got to my feet, ready to figure out what to do next. That's when my eyes landed on the bag as it sat by my feet. There, sitting on top of everything else, was a cooler, with the word 'Insulin' written on it.

"Damn it" I whispered to myself

* * *

I found the three of them sitting on a log, the blonde still in pretty bad shape. But I wasn't going to let them fool me. If she was sick, if she wasn't, it didn't matter. I was gonna do what I came to do and then get the hell out of there. Aiming my crossbow at them, I moved in sight. "Drop the gun! Drop it!" The guy had stood up at the sound of my voice. But after seeing me aiming my crossbow at him, he thought twice and lowered the gun. "Give it to me." I reached out. Once the gun was in my hand I tucked it away, taking a couple steps back. "Came all this way. What you got for the duffel? You put me through too much shit just to give it back. Principle of the thing. What you got besides this gun?"

"Nothing." the blonde answered.

I looked from her, to the guy. "What was that thing you were carvin'?"

Shaking his head, he pulled it out of his pocket. It was a little wooden soldier. "My grandfather taught me-"

I cut him off. "Don't care. It'll do." I reached my hand out, and he handed the thing over. I tucked it into my pocket before tossing the bag on the ground. "Take it. It's all there."

The guy cautiously bent down and grabbed the bag, handing over to the girls.

"Good luck." I told them, turning away. "You're gonna need it."

A loud noise caught my attention as something big and heavy pushed its way through the trees, snapping and pushing them over. I quickly dashed behind a push, watching as the heavy thing- which was a truck- came into view.

It stopped, men jumping out and already walking beside it gathering. Guns in their hands, I realized at that moment that these were probably the same people who'd attacked Sasha, Abraham and myself.

"Let's end this." one of the men called.

"It's ours." the brunette girl called back. "We earned what we took."

"You're gonna return what you took. You're gonna pay for the gas it took to come out here, and for all the time these men took out. It's over. You know the rules."

"Your rules are batshit!" the brunette yelled.

"We're not going back, Wade. We're done kneeling." the guy yelled to the others as well.

"Don't change the subject, asshole." Wade called out again, he took the truck and they began to move.

I did a quick look around to see our options and caught sight of men moving in from different directions, all armed. The ones who'd taken me last night were on their feet, getting ready to move, heading right for the others.

"Come on." I stopped them. "Hey, that way." I gestured to the only way that was clear. "Come on. Go! Go!" the blonde was still weak, so I grabbed her. "Go!" I told the others.

We ran as fast as we could, but with the blonde being the way she was we weren't getting far enough. Sooner or later the others would catch up. That meant I'd be stuck, again, unable to get home. Nothing was keeping me from getting back to Phoebe. I stopped with the others, behind a bush, placing the blonde on the ground near the brunette before looking around to see what we should do next.

Knowing we were outnumbered and in danger, I found I had no choice but to hand the gun back over. So, I pulled it out. "Hey." I tapped the guy's shoulder. When he turned, I offered the gun. "Take it."

He took it before turning back around, watching as the people chasing them got closer and closer.

"Eyes open. Cover your quadrant." Wade's voice called over a walkie that was nearby. "Go to alpha channel."

Movement caught my attention as my eyes landed on a burnt walker stuck behind a rock, it's arm swaying in the air as it tried to get free.

One of the other men was getting closer to both us and the rock the walker was stuck behind. It was clear they weren't going to stop looking unless we did something, and if they caught us things were not going to end well. So, I grabbed a branch of the bush we were hiding behind, rustling the leaves to get the guy's attention. It worked. He'd heard the leaves and turned, starting to head this way. As he rounded the rock, the walker grabbed him easily and bit into his arm, causing the man to yell out and hit the walker's head with the butt of his gun, killing it. Though it was too late, he was bit.

"Wade, I'm bit!" he yelled, kneeling by another rock, resting his arm on it. "Wade, I'm bit!" Wade came rushing over to help the guy. "Take it off me." he told him.

"Damn it." Wade took his belt off.

"Do it. Just take it off."

Wade tired the belt around the guy's arm. "Get your watch after." he said before pulling out a machete and bringing it down on the guy's arm, cutting it clean off. The guy screamed and cried out. "All right, that's it." Wade called into his walkie. "Time to go home. Cam got a boo-boo."

"You sure?" someone else asked over the radio.

"Hell, yeah." Wade answered. "He only wanted to take this so far. And he only wants ass that's willing, you know?" he finished before putting the walkie away and grabbing the watched off the severed arm. "Come on, Cam, let's walk it off." he helped the other guy to his feet and walked them both off.

After a moment, once they were gone, the guy next to me turned. "We thought you were with them." eh shook his head. "We knock you over the head, tie you up, threaten to kill you. Why the hell did you come back?"

I grunted, shrugging. "Maybe I'm stupid, too."

* * *

"So, you know 'em, so you thought I was one of them?" I asked as we walked through the burnt forest still.

"Where we were, we were there since the beginning. We still didn't know everyone." the guy answered. "Back when we first threw in with them, it was as good a place as any. And as things got harder, people got harder. Human nature kicked in and it became a truly unique kind of shit show."

"People will trade anything for safety, for knowing they they're safe." the brunette added.

"Everything." the guy nodded. "So, they got nothing left except just... Existing."

"There ain't nobody safe anymore." I noted.

I knew that better than anyone considering the amount of times I'd tried keeping Phoebe and my group safe. But no matter how hard I tried, they always got hurt, or Phoebe was the one to save me. Always. I sighed. "Can't promise people that anyhow."

"You could promise the people who want to hear it." the guy shrugged. Suddenly the blonde ran off.

"Hey, Tina! Hold up!" the guy called before we all followed her.

She stopped in front of a burnt down greenhouse, looking down at the two bodies encased by melted glass. "Carla and Delly. That's them." she stepped forward.

"Me and Tina used to babysit them when they were kids." the brunette explained. "Everyone said that they went out north when it all started. We didn't know."she explained as we watched Tina- the blonde- pull some flower weeds from the ground and move to crouch in-between the bodies.

"I did this." the guy said.

The brunette shook her head. "We did this."

Tina laid the flower over one of the body's chest. She screamed as the body moved inside the encasing. It was a walker, she got to her feet to move but tripped, landing on the other body. Both body casings shattered as the walkers grabbed her. Before any of us could move or react the walker's bit into her.

It had all happened so fast I couldn't believe it. I rushed forward, killing both walkers and the guy held the brunette back, who was crying at the sight in front of her.

When the walkers were dead the brunette rushed forward, getting to her knees and pulling Tina to her as they cried. The walkers must have punctured an artery, or maybe the glass had, because before long Tina was dead.

"I'm sorry!" the brunette cried. "I'm so sorry, baby! We had to try. We had to try. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry."

"Here." I stepped forward. "I got her."

The guy nodded, moving to the brunette, lifting her away. "Thank you." he told me before pulling her away, letting me take care of Tina.

* * *

Digging some holes for the bodies, I watched the guy next to me, before turning to the brunette who was clearly in shock. These people weren't bad people. They were desperate and unstable, but they weren't bad...

I turned to the guy. "Hey. How many walkers you killed?" when he looked up at me I shrugged. "Just answer the question."

"A lot. A couple dozen at least."

"How many people you killed?"

"None." he answered, going back to digging.

"Why?"

"Why haven't I killed anybody? Because if I did, there'd be no going back. there's no going back to how things were."

"I'm from a place where people are still like they were. More or less, better or worse." I told him.

He didn't say anything, but he knew what I was saying. I was inviting them back. I was offering a roof over their head and food in their stomachs. I was offering- not promising- somewhere safe. He just turned to the brunette for a moment before turning back to his hole, continuing to dig.

* * *

"I can walk it from here, till we meet up with my friends." I told them as I lifted the bush off my bike. They agreed to come back with me. "They got a car, you can ride with them."

"How many friends did you say there were?" the guy asked.

"I didn't." I answered. "There's two of them."

"Where are they?"

"We're gonna find out." I told him as I pushed my bike.

"How do you know they even got away? That they didn't get taken?" he was clearly not convinced.

"I don't." I called over my shoulder, then I hear the sound of a gun cocking, "Oh, damn it." I dropped my bike and turned, reaching to pull my crossbow over my shoulder.

Before I could, the guy aimed his gun at me. "I'm sorry." he sighed. "Give her the crossbow."

"You gonna go back?" I started, not doing what he said. "You'll be safe?"

"Shut up!"

Ignoring him I went on. "Ain't nowhere safe no more."

"Give her the crossbow." he repeated.

"You'll kneel?" he shot the tree behind me, I barely flinched, but it was enough to get me moving. I couldn't die out here. I wouldn't.

Pulling my crossbow off my shoulder, keeping my eyes on him, I handed it over to the girl. Once she had it over her shoulder she took the gun from the guy before he lifted the bike, both climbing on, gun still aimed at me.

Reaching into the bag, the girl pulled out some bandages. "Patch yourself up." she tossed them towards me. "We're sorry."

"You're gonna be." I told her, not moving from the spot, watching as they then rode off.

Once they were gone I lifted the bandages of the ground and went to put them in my pocket. I felt the wooden soldier sitting there. Pulling it out I looked down at it, shaking my head. I should've killed them.

* * *

I made it back to the little dirt road I'd first rode on in the forest. The walker with the helmet on was still there, still stuck, still alive. Moving to leave, I caught sight of a sign on the ground, dirt covering it. Crouching down and reaching forward, I brushed the dirt away, seeing that it was a sign for the fuel company I'd been at with the others earlier. Getting back to my feet I looked around.

Some bushed were up ahead, and by the looks of things, there was something behind it. Moving forward I pulled the bushes away, revealing a fuel truck. I walked to the driver's door, opening it up and killing the walker inside with my knife- that the others had thankfully left- before pulling the walker out and climbing in. It was time to find the others.

Sasha and Abraham- who was dressed in a military suit- had been holed up in the small town we'd been attacked in They'd left a trail for me, and stayed, hoping I'd come back. When I did the three of us piled into the truck and headed for home. All of us couldn't wait to finally get back, and figure out what the hell had happened while we were gone.

Driving along the road, I pulled out the walkie. "Rick, you copy? Anybody?" I went to put the walkie down, but the sound of muffled voices caught our attention. "Say it again."

 _"Help."_


	20. Chapter 20

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

"Hey," I said to Maggie climbing up to the top of the post, "Why don't you take a break. You've been up here all day"

"Thanks, but I'm fine." She says and I chuckle

"Yeah I figured you would say that" I tell her and hand her a granola bar, "I figured you would be hungry" She took it and smiled at me

"Congratulations by the way" She said and I looked at her confused, "Aaron told me"

"Damn it Eric" I laughed and she chuckled, "Thank you."

"It's a good thing, you both worked hard for it. Now you have a miracle happening." She paused and I looked forward, "Who knows, maybe our kids could have the same birthday." She said and I pulled her into a hug

"Oh my god!" I laughed and she hugged me back then suddenly stopped and I looked at her then turned my head following her gaze. We both see green balloons float up from a short distance away, "Come on" I tell her and we climb down and run over to where Rick is

"That's Glenn. That's Glenn" Maggie panted and Rick gave a small nod then suddenly we hear wood creaking and look up at the guard tower as it begins to tip over

"Maggie!" I grab her hand and pull her away just as it crashed on top of the wall

* * *

"Everyone, get back! Get into your houses, go!" Rick yells at everyone and started shooting the walkers that came in

"Maggie come on!" I yell to her and we began to run but she fell and I saw a walker go towards her, I was about to shoot it when one came up to me and I stabbed it hearing her fire her gun, "Get up there now! Go!" I tell her and she started to climb up

"Phoebe come on!" She says as I started shooting again

"Just go!" I yelled and she climbed up while I started to run

"Help me!" I hear someone cry and I look to see Kayden up a tree as walkers start to surround him, I stabbed one and shot 3 more then reached for him

"Come on!" He grabbed my hand and I shot another one, I looked around as we ran with me holding his hand and saw the infirmary was closer to us so we ran to it just as the door opened, I moved him inside then shut the door behind me catching my breath then moved over to Kayden, "Are you okay? Did any bite you?" I asked checking him over

"No, I saw them coming and climbed."

"That was very brave" I told him and he hugged me

"Thank you"

"Anytime buddy" I said to him as we hear the walkers outside

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

As I drove Sasha, Abraham and myself back home I kept thinking about Phoebe, I knew something was wrong I could feel it in my gut, I was taken out of my thoughts when I see something in the road up ahead, "Daryl." Sasha nudged me.

I nodded. "Yeah, I see." We caught sight of a group of guys who were stopped in the middle of the road on some motorbikes.

"What in the holy shit." Abraham shifted in his seat.

I had no choice but to come to a stop as we neared them, seeing as they had guns and were clearly the kind of guys who wouldn't be afraid to use them.

The guy standing at the front of the group spoke. "Why don't you come on out, join us in the road?" when we didn't move, he shrugged. "You know, if you wanna resist, try something... I mean, it's a choice, I guess. But we will end your asses. Split you right in two, straight through to the sinuses. So come on." Having no real choice, I turned to engine off then all three of us got out without a word, watching the men who were watching us as we moved to stand in front of the truck. The leader nodded. "Yeah, that's great. It's going well right out of the gate. Now, step two. Hand over your weapons."

"Why should we?" I asked him wanting to kill all of them

"Well, they're not yours." the leader shrugged.

"What?" Abraham asked.

The leader stepped forward. "See, your weapons, your truck, the fuel in your truck, if you got mints in your glove compartment, if you got porn underneath the seat, change in the seats, hell, the seats themselves, the floor mats, your maps, the little stash of emergency napkins you got there in the console... None of those things are yours anymore."

Sasha spoke up. "Whose are they?"

The leader looked to her. "Your property now belongs to Negan." he looked to each of us. "Now if you can get your hands on a tanker, you're people our person wants to know. So let's get those sidearms, shall we?" he walked up to me. "Right now." pulling it out from the back of my pants I handed my gun over. "Thank you." he smiled before moving on to Sasha. She handed hers over and he thanked her as well before stepping up to Abraham.

Abraham didn't move. He just looked down at the man in front of him. It was clear, he wasn't handing anything over.

The leader sighed. "If you have to east shit, best not to nibble. Bite, chew, swallow, repeat. It goes quicker." he nodded, waiting. Sure enough, Abraham handed him his gun. With that, the guy moved back to his bike.

"Who are you people?" Sasha asked, wanting answers as much as Abraham and myself.

"I get the curiosity, but we have questions ourselves." the leader started. "And we'll be the ones asking them while we drive you back to wherever it is you call home. Take a gander at where you hang your hats." he smiled. "First, though, your shit. What have you got for us?"

"Yeah, you just took it." I tried for a lie.

But he wasn't buying it. "Come on, I mean, can we not? Okay? There's more. There is always more." he sighed and turned to one of his men. "T." he gestured to me as the guy stood. "Take my man to the back of the truck. Start inside the back bumper, work your way to the front." he ordered as he sat on his bike.

T stepped up to me, shoving me towards the back of the truck. I didn't bother struggling, instead I let him take me to the back.

Once we were around the back and out of sight from the others, I moved quickly. The guy had stepped in front of me to look inside the bunker, putting his back to me. Once I was sure he was as distracted as possible, I jumped forward getting him in a headlock and brought him to his knees, I squeezed as hard as I could, blocking his air way.

He struggled, and I felt something dig into my back. But I wasn't giving in. After the crap I'd gone through nothing was going to keep me from getting home. Slowly and eventually they began to get weaker before he was nothing, dead.

Reaching into the back of the bunker I pulled out an RPG- which Abraham had found in the town while they'd been waiting for me. Setting it up I didn't waste a second before getting into place, I lifted it up and aimed then shot it blowing the pricks up. Nodding, I lowered the weapon, moving around to Sasha and Abraham as they got to their feet. "Son of a bitch was tougher than he looked." I told them before we moved to the back of the truck where I'd left the guy I'd killed.

Sasha shook her head. "Did he cut you?"

"A little." I shrugged. "What a bunch of assholes."

Sasha pressed a rag to my cut, laughing lightly. "Let's get you fixed up at home."

"Yes, ma`am." I nodded, getting into the truck.

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

Hours go by and I started to pace back and forth, "Seems to be our meeting place huh?" Aaron asked me and I gave a light chuckle then suddenly the door opened and I see Heath letting Denise in.

"Are you ok?" Spencer asked her

"I'm fine. How are my patients?"

"They're doing well. We moved them upstairs just in case." Heath told her and I looked out the window .

"Oh, my God." I whispered and they looked out the same window, I see Rick and Michonne running through the walkers and Rick was carrying Carl.

"It's the kid. Is he bit?" Heath asked

"Nope." Denise says and walked away

"What?" Aaron asked and we followed

"I need bandages. Top shelf, next to the sink. Two IVs from the fridge and all the clean towels you can find. Aaron, grab the gurney." Denise told him and I moved to the door opening it as Rick came through first, "This is a gunshot?" Denise asked

"Handgun. Close range." Michonne answered and I moved over to Rick taking off the blood covered sheet he was wearing

"Please save him. Please."

"That's gonna draw them here." Spencer says as Denise turned on a light

"I need light. Michonne, towel. Hold it here." She told her and I looked at Carl fighting back tears, "Okay, we need to keep pressure on the wound. I'll go in and sew up any lacerations. Just like that, right here. Now, Spencer, I need that pan." She told him, "That one on the tray. Good. I'm going to clean and close this. Michonne, keep following me with the towel." She says to her then I see Rick open the door holding his axe

"What- what are you doing?" Michonne asked him but he walked out

"Rick! Rick!" I yelled after him but the door closed

"Rick's out there." Michonne tells Denise

"Hold on."

"He needs my help." She persisted

"Just one more suture."

"But he's out there." Michonne says

"This is his son. Give me a second."

"He's taking them all on. We have to go get him." Aaron told us

"What?" Spencer asked

"We have to. This is it." Heath says

"Okay, got it." Denise told Michonne who kissed Carl's head then grabbed her sword and ran out.

I went over to Carl and kissed his head as well, "Hang in there buddy. Make sure Kayden stays upstairs" I told Denise then pulled out my knife and followed Michonne killing walkers followed by the others.

"Knock away. Drive them down" Rick told us and I see Olivia and Eric come out of the armory and follow our lead

"We can beat 'em, we can beat 'em" I told everyone and more people came out

"Drive 'em back. That's it. We can do this together!" Rick says and more and more people came out then I see my mom make her way over, she grabbed my arm and we stayed by each other while we all moved down the street killing walkers. Just then we see the pond on fire and the walkers move towards it but some remained and we all kept killing them. I look over and see Maggie, Sasha, Glenn and Abraham make their way towards us then I see Daryl, as much as I wanted to run over to him I stayed by my mom and continued.

* * *

I stood next to Daryl while Denise stitched up the cut on his shoulder holding his hand, I glanced over at Michonne as she held Judith standing by the back room Carl was in while we waited for him to wake up and Kayden was sitting with Tara. I looked over and smiled at Daryl then Denise was done, I helped him get his shirt and vest back on then he pulled me into a hug kissing my temple then my cheek then finally my lips, "I love you"

"I love you too. I was so worried" I tell him and he put his hands on my face

"Are you okay? The baby?" He asked and I nodded

"We're both okay" I tell him and he kissed me again

* * *

"You plan on letting me go?" Daryl asked me as I snuggled up to him. It had been a month since everything that happened and I didn't want him to leave my side again

"Mmm nope, remember how I suggested tying you up? I'm considering it again"

He flipped us so that he was hovering above me, "You don't make it easy to leave, my little temptress" He says and I kissed him then pulled away biting his bottom lip

"That's the plan" I tell him and rolled us so I was on top then straddled his lap. I leaned down and kissed him moving his hands up above his head then took him by surprise as I tied his hands. He looked at me with shock and lust filled eyes, I smirked then had my way with him

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

After me and Phoebe finally got dressed and ready she headed over to Eric's, I watched her walk away and she glanced back at me smiling then kept going, I sure did get lucky finding her. I gathered up my stuff then headed over to find Denise, "Hey." I called to her

"Yes?"

"This thing at the bottom right here. You're talking about the drink, right?" I asked her pointing to the list she gave me

"I am, but..."

"It's not medical." I brought up

"No, I drew a line between the important stuff and that. I just figured, if you saw it." She tells me

"All right."

"Anything remotely medical is a priority. And food, maybe even food before medicine, and gas or batteries or books for the kids or clothes is just- if you see it, if it just happens to, you know, be right there." She says

"You like it, right?" I asked her

"No, I don't drink pop." She tells me and I look at her confused

"What the hell's pop?"

"Oh, I'm originally from Ohio." She points out

"Why you want it?"

"Tara was talking about it in her sleep, I think. Either she likes it or she doesn't, but if she likes it, it'd be a really nice surprise. I'm not good with that kind of stuff, and she and Heath are going on that two-week run. I just thought it'd be a nice going-away present. Just, uh, don't go out of your way. And if it gives you any trouble..." She starts to say but I cut her off

"I won't."

"Okay, good, 'cause it's not important. I should've said so instead of just drawing a line." She mentioned

"Got it."

* * *

"Today's the day." Rick tells me as we drive down the road

"Uh-huh." I mumbled

"We're gonna find food, maybe some people. The law of averages has gotta catch up." Rick said

"I don't know. We ain't seen nobody for weeks. Maybe we ain't gonna find nobody. Maybe that's a good thing." I tell him then I see him reach for a CD

"Don't. Don't. Please don't." I begged but he put it in anyways then started snapping his fingers to the music

 _Give me the downbeat, maestro._  
 _I want to lay it on the line_  
 _'Cause everything I do, I wanna do it in double time_  
 _When I take a ride.._

"Draws 'em away from home!" He tells me over the music

 _Hear me? Action-packed_  
 _Well, if your music's gonna move me_  
 _Well, I just gotta feel the beat..._

* * *

"Hey, hold up. It's best to be safe. You cover it?" I asked him as we stand in front of a shed that said Sorghum on the door, I lifted it up and Rick moved to check it

"Yeah. Yeah, we're good. One more time?" He asked indicating to the cube van and I reached for the lock

"It ain't locked." I point out and open it revealing a bed full of supplies

"Well, how about that? The law of averages. Let's get this thing going, grab our gear, come back for the car later. Take another way back. See what we can see."

"Think it'll start?" I asked him shutting the door

"Yeah, I do. Sorghum."

As we drove down another road we came across a gas station and stopped, we got out and I went to the doors checking them then saw a tipped over vending machine, "Yo, give me a hand with this. Ahem. Let's flip it over." I tell him and we start to lift but have no success

"I don't think we got it."

"I got an idea." I tell him and grab a chain hooking it to both the machine and the truck then whistle for Rick to pull forward, the machine lifts up and I stop him

"It's soda and candy. Why the trouble?" Rick asked walking back over as I reach in grabbing some stuff

"It wasn't any trouble." I tell him and suddenly someone bumps into him

"Hi."

"Back up! Now!" I warn the man holding my gun up at him and Rick does as well

"Keep 'em up!"

"Whoa, easy, guys. I was just running from the dead." He tells us

"How many?" I asked

"10, maybe more. I'm not risking it. Once it gets to double digits, I start running."

"Where?" I asked him

"About a half a mile back. They're headed this way. You probably have about 11 minutes."

"Okay, thanks for letting us know." Rick says lowering his gun

"Yeah. There's more of them than us, right? Gotta stick together. Right?" He asked looking at me and I hesitated but lowered my gun, "You have a camp?" He asked us

"No."

"Do you?" Rick asked him

"No. Sorry for running into you. I'm gonna go now. If this is the next world, I hope it's good to you guys." He said and started to walk away

"I'm Rick. This is Daryl." Rick tells him and the guy stops and looks at us, "What's your name?"

"Paul Rovia." He said lowering the cloth covering his face, "But my friends used to call me Jesus. Your pick."

"You said you didn't have a camp. You on your own?" Rick asked

"Yeah. But, still, best not to try anything."

"Best not to make threats you can't keep, either." I tell him

"Exactly." He starts to run away

"How many walkers-" Rick started to ask but I stopped him

"No, not this guy."

"How many walkers have you killed?" Rick asked anyways but the guy kept going

"Sorry, gotta run. You should, too. Think you've got about seven minutes." He said and continued running

"What the hell was that?" I asked Rick

"He was clean. His beard, it was trimmed. There's more going on there."

"He didn't have a gun, either." I point out

"We could track him, watch him for a while, get to know more. See if he's really alone. Maybe bring him back."

"Nah, guy calls himself Jesus." I tell him and we hear a popping sound from behind us so we move around the building with our guns raised only to find fireworks that went off

"Firecrackers." Rick said

"He swiped your keys, didn't he?" I asked and he feels his pockets

"Oh, shit!" We ran back around the building and saw the guy in the truck start to drive away

"Sorry!"

"Shit." Rick says as we watch it drive away

* * *

We run as fast as we can after the truck hoping to catch up, we stop for a moment and I reach into the vending machine that fell off the chain and grab out the soda I found for Denise.

"This was a special request from the doctor." I tell him taking a drink then handing it to Rick

"Hey, whatever she wants. She saved Carl's life. We didn't know her, and she turned out to be all right. If there's still people out here, and they're still people, we should bring 'em in."

"What, like this guy?" I asked him taking another drink

"No, fuck this guy."

"We still got a trail." I tell him

"Let's go." and we start running again

* * *

As we continue running I see tire marks and I point to them, I motion for Rick to crouch down and we look up the hill seeing the guy and the truck, he must have been changing the tire or something, we move through the woods to get around him without being seen. As he shuts the back Rick tackles him wrapping his arms around the guy.

"Hold still and maybe we won't hurt you."

"Sure thing." I hear grunting and saw the guy come out from behind the truck, I went to punch him but he ducked then pushed me against the truck and Rick knocks him to the ground and we point our guns at him.

"This is done." Rick said and we hear growling

"Do you even have any ammo?" The guy asked and we pointed our guns up both shooting the walker, "Okay. You gonna shoot me over a truck?"

"There's a lot of food on that truck. The keys, now." Rick warns him

"I think you know I'm not a bad guy."

"Yeah? What do you know about us? Give me the keys. This is the last time I'm asking." Rick said and cocked his gun.

* * *

"You're gonna leave me here like this?" The guy asked as Rick finished tying his hands and legs, "You're really gonna do that?"

"Eh, the knots aren't that tight. You should be able to get free... after we're long gone."

"Maybe we should talk now." The guy says and I hold a can of soda that exploded in my bag

"Nah. Here." I tell him tossing the can at him, "In case you get thirsty." We get in the truck and Rick starts it, I put my feet on the dash and stick my middle finger up out the window, "So long ya prick!" I yelled and Rick drives away

* * *

"Still worked out. Today still is the day." Rick tells me as we eat a candy bar and I turn the music up

"Hey, look at that." Rick points out the window

"Yeah, a barn." Suddenly there was a loud thump and I turn the radio down, "You hear that?" The thumping continues, "I think that son of a bitch is on the roof."

"Hold on." Rick says hits the brakes hard and the guy falls off the roof, gets up, looks at us then runs, Rick accelerates and I grab the handle opening the door

"Mother-"

"Daryl! Daryl!" Rick calls after me as I chase him on foot

"We came to a conclusion, asshole! I got him!" I tell Rick as I see the walkers that were tied to the trucks break free, the guy runs to the truck opening the door getting in but I grab him and we struggle, "Come here, you little shit!" Suddenly I hear a gun cock and I look at him

"Duck." He tells me and I did then he fired the gun killing a walker that was coming up behind me

"Thanks." I tell him and punched his face, "That's my gun!" I said grabbing it then grabbing him, "Come here!" I start to pull him out of the truck as it rolls backwards and we fall to the ground, the door hits him in the head knocking him out and the truck goes into the water, _Damn it_

"You all right?" Rick asked me coming over

"Yeah. Law of averages. That's bullshit, man. Let's go check them cars, get the hell out of here." I tell him and start to walk

"What about the guy?"

"What about him?" I asked

"Well, he helped you."

"Maybe." I tell him

"He ever pull a weapon on you?" He asked me

"Fine. Let's put him up a tree." I said and grabbed the guys arms dragging him

* * *

Rick was driving the car and I was in the back with the guy, just then Rick jerked the car and the guys head landed on my shoulder, I shrugged him off and gave Rick a glare

"He took a pretty hard hit. Denise needs to look him over." Rick tells me

"Yeah."

"You wouldn't have gone through with it. You wouldn't have left him." He points out

"I would've, right up in a tree. I would've."

"No. I know. Almost as soon as we got to Alexandria, you got it. You saw- you... and Michonne, Glenn, you all tried to tell me. So shut up." He says and jerks the car again causing the guys head to once again land on me, I shoved him off and glared at Rick again, "'Cause I'm finally listening."

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

Later that night I finished cleaning up the kitchen and living room after the kids left when suddenly I feel someone cover my eyes from behind, "Guess who?"

"Umm...Spencer?" I asked and got turned around

"Think you're funny?" He asked pressing up against me and I wrapped my arms around his neck

"Sorry, lots of attractive men around here while my husband is away" I jokingly said and he lifted me up setting me on the kitchen table moving himself between my legs.

"Mmm well I better be the only man you look at like that."

I smiled and kissed him, "Always" He kissed me and it started to grow more passionate, "I would be more then willing to continue this if we weren't displayed where everyone can see." I tell him indicating to the windows

"As you wish Mrs. Dixon" He told me grabbing my hand and pulled me upstairs.

* * *

"So tell me about this guy you met" I say to him as we lay in bed

"I don't know much about him, except he said his name is Jesus"

"Seriously?" I asked and he nodded, "Well ok then, and he's in the room we held Morgan?"

"Yep, under guard"

"Hmm" I mumble and he looked at me

"What?"

"Just strange how these random things keep happening, just when it gets back to being somewhat normal around here boom, random event" I tell him and he turned to face me

"I know, but after everything that's happened I will always be with you, okay?"

"Then can I ask a favor?" I asked him and he nodded his head, "Can I start going with you guys? I'm feeling kind of left out and it can just be simple runs, not one's where it's a week or so long"

"I don't know, what if something happens?"

"I'll have you with me, you always save me" I said and I saw the internal fight he was having.

"Alright, but only simple ones and no matter what you always stay by me" He says and I nodded my head then kissed him, suddenly we hear the door open and Glenn called for Daryl, we both got up and got dressed grabbing our guns and followed him and Maggie next door to Rick's house. When we walk in Daryl moved up the stairs followed by Glenn then me and Maggie, we see a man sitting at the top of the stairs who I assumed was this Jesus guy and we pointed our guns at him.

"You said we should talk, so let's talk" Rick told him and I saw him putting on a shirt

* * *

"So, how'd you get out?" Rick asked Jesus as he sat at the table

"One guard can't cover two exits or third floor windows. Knots untie and locks get picked. Entropy comes from order, right?" He asked Rick

"Right."

"I checked out your arsenal. I haven't seen anything like that in a long time. You're well-equipped, but your provisions are low. Very low for the amount of people you have. 54?" He asked

"More than that." Maggie answered

"Well, I appreciate the cookie. My compliments to the chef."

"Yeah, she ain't here." Daryl told him

"Look, we got off to a bad start. But we're on the same side- the living side. You and Rick had every reason to leave me out there, but you didn't. I'm from a place that's a lot like this one. Part of my job is searching out other settlements to trade with. I took your truck because my community needs things, and both of you looked like trouble. I was wrong. You're good people. And this is a good place. I think our communities may be in a position to help each other." He informed us

"Do you have food?" Glenn asked him

"We've started to raise livestock. We scavenge, we grow. Everything from tomatoes to sorghum."

"Tell us why we should believe you." Rick says to him

"I'll show you. If we take a car, I can take you back home in a day, and you can all see for yourselves who we are and what we have to offer."

"Wait, you're looking for more settlements. You mean you're already trading with other groups?" Maggie asked him

"Your world's about to get a whole lot bigger."

* * *

"Here." Denise says to me handing me something, "Homemade oat cake. Complex carbohydrates, omega-3s."

"Nah, I'm good. We're gonna make a pit stop. I'll pick up something then." Daryl says to her finishing up the RV

"Like rabies?"

"Is this 'cause I tried to get you that stuff?" Daryl asked her

"Yeah. And you remind me of someone I used to know." She says and he grabbed it from her

"Well...I hope it tastes better than it looks. 'Cause it looks like shit." He said to her putting it in his pocket

"Shit's still better than roadkill. Okay, maybe- just eat it." She tells him and handed me one, "It's good for the baby" She informed me and I nodded

"You sure you wanna come?" Daryl asked me

"I can't let you have fun by yourself" I smiled and he looked at me, "I'm sure, okay?"

"Can't I be worried?" He asked and I kissed his cheek

"Of course you can, but I have you by me, it'll be ok" I told him and he pulled me into a kiss

"Let's chew up some asphalt!" I hear Abraham yell and we loaded into the RV and drove off.

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

We sat in the RV and both Phoebe and Maggie fell asleep, Denise told me Phoebe would be tired a lot along with nauseous and a bunch of other things, that's why I worried about her. She was strong but right now she can't push herself, Maggie either, and after those people attacked Alexandria and Phoebe fought off two of them I got even more worried because she told me one slammed her back into the wall as she jumped on them but Denise said everything looked okay. Still though, that's our baby, we worked hard for us to start this family, I would make sure it happened no matter what.

"Hey. Can I ask you both a question?" Abraham says to me and Glenn

"Sure." Glenn replied and I nodded

"When you were, uh, pouring the Bisquick, were you trying to make pancakes?" Abraham asked and I just looked at him, the hell?

"Uh... yes?" Glenn asked with question, "Oh, okay, um... it's something that we talked about, yeah." Glenn told him and I got it

"Yeah. Why?" I asked him

"No, I just... Well, given the precarious state of affairs on any given Sunday, I am damn near floored that the both of you or anyone else would have the cojones to make a call like that."

"I mean, well...we're trying to build something, me and her. All of us." Glenn says to him

"Me and her planned on it back at the prison" I told him

"For the record, I see rain coming, I'm wearing galoshes. I double up." Abraham says and then the RV slowed down

"Yo, Rick. What's going on?" I asked him looking out the window

"We got a crash ahead. Looks like it just happened."

"It's one of ours." Jesus said exiting the RV, Phoebe woke up and looked at me confused

"What's going on?" She asked

"Accident up ahead" I told her and she looked out the window then we all got out and went over to the car

"If this is a trick, it won't end well for you." Rick tells him pointing his gun at the guy

"My people are in trouble. They don't- we don't have a lot of fighters. I know how it looks, but I'll play it out. Can I borrow a gun?" He asked

"No." I tell him and look at the ground, "We got tracks right here."

Rick bangs on the door of the building we followed the tracks to, "They gotta be in there." Jesus points out

"We moving in or what?" Abraham asked

"How do we know this ain't firecrackers in a trash can?" I asked him walking around to the door

"You don't."

"We'll get your people. You're staying here with one of us. That's the deal." Rick tells him

"Will you stay?" Glenn asked Maggie

"Yeah. Y'all go. Just be careful."

"Stay too" I told Phoebe and she nodded aiming her gun at Jesus

"Yeah. We're gonna be careful." Rick says as he handcuffs the guy

"Just hurry."

"You hear me whistle, shoot him." Rick tells Phoebe

"I will."

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

"Name's Harlan, by the way." He says to Maggie, Glenn and me

"Maggie. That's my husband, Glenn, and that's Phoebe." Maggie introduced and I smiled at him

"We're bringing back medication, so you may have saved more people than just us back there, Glenn."

"You're a doctor?" Glenn asked him

"Yeah, that's right."

"You have any prenatal vitamins in there?" Glenn asked him and he looked at Maggie

"For you?"

"Mm-hmm. Her too" Maggie says and I nodded my head

"Well, uh, I was an obstetrician before, and I most definitely owe you. So, I'd say you three just hit the jackpot." Harlan told us and I smiled then walked out of the back and sat next to Daryl who wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

* * *

"Damn it." Rick says revving the motor, "A storm must've passed through. We're stuck."

"No worries. We're here." Jesus tells us and gets out, "That's us. That's the Hilltop." He says and we see a tall wooded fence and walk towards it

"Stop right there." A man yells from the top and we raise our guns but Jesus steps in front of us wit his hands raised

"Whoa!"

"You gonna make us?" Daryl asked the man holding a spear

"Jesus, what the hell is this?"

"Open the gates, Cal. Freddie's hurt." Jesus tells him and looks at us, "Look, sorry about these guys. They get antsy standing up there all day doing nothing."

"They give up the weapons. Then we'll open the gates."

"Why don't you come down here and get 'em?" Daryl asked

"Gentlemen, look, we vouch for these people, all right? They saved us out there." Harlan tells them

"Lower the spears." Jesus ordered

"Look, I'm not taking any chances. Tell your guy Gregory to come out here." Rick says to Jesus

"No. Don't you see what just happened? I'm letting you keep your guns. Look, we ran out of ammo months ago. I like you people. I trust you. Trust us." He says and faces the gate, "Open the gates, Cal." He tells them and they open up and we walk in.

"There was a materials yard for a power company nearby. That's how we put up the walls. A lot of people came from a FEMA camp. Trailers came with them." Jesus informed us

"How did people find out about this place?" Michonne asked him

"That's called Barrington House. The family that owned it gave it to the state in the '30s. The state turned it into a living history museum. Every elementary school for 50 miles used to come here for field trips. The place was running a long time before the modern world built up around it. I think people came here because they figured it'd keep running after the modern world broke down. Those windows up there let us see for miles in every direction. It's perfect for security. Come on. I'll show you inside." Jesus says to us and we head into the house.

* * *

"Good gracious, Ignatius." Abraham said in wonder as we walk in

"Most of the rooms have been converted to living spaces. Even the ones that weren't bedrooms."

"People live here and the trailers?" Rick asked

"We plan to build. There's babies being born."

"Jesus. You're back. With guests." A man said walking into the entry way

"Everyone, this is Gregory. He keeps the trains running on time around here." Jesus introduced

"I'm the boss."

"Well, I'm Rick. We have a community-"

"Why don't y'all go get cleaned up, hmm?" Gregory tells him cutting him off

"We're fine."

"Jesus will show you where you can get washed up. Then come back down here when you're ready. It's hard to keep this place clean." Gregory tells him

"Yeah. Sure."

"Follow me." Jesus tells us

* * *

"We want to generate trade. Gregory does. But ammo isn't something we urgently need." Jesus says to us after Maggie met with Gregory, it didn't go well.

"Well, how's that?" Rick asked

"The walls hold. We just brought in more medicine. Gregory wants the best deal possible."

"Yeah, well, we want things, too." Daryl tells him as he paced

"We need food. We came all this way, we're gonna get it."

"I will talk to him and we will work this out. Circumstances change. We're doing well now, and you will next. I will make him understand that. Can you give me a few days?" Jesus asked them

"We can." Michonne replied

"Yeah." Rick said in agreement, then we heard yelling outside and a guy came in

"What's wrong?" Gregory asked him coming out of his study

"They're back." He answered and we walked outside

"Nathan, what happened to everybody else? Where's Tim and Marsha?" Gregory asked him as we walked towards him

"They're dead."

"Negan?" Gregory asked

"Yeah"

"We had a deal." Gregory tells them

"He said it wasn't enough. Was the drop light?" The one guy asked

"No."

"They still have Craig." The girl told him

"They said they'd keep him alive, return him to us, if I deliver a message to you." Nathan tells Gregory walking up to him

"So, tell me."

"I'm sorry." Nathan said and stabbed Gregory. Me, Maggie and Jesus rush over to him as Rick and Michonne pulled Nathan back, "Get off of me! I had to!" He yelled pushing Michonne then went for Rick who brought him to the ground and started punching him, the other guy tried to pull him off but Abraham pushed him away and Rick attacked him again while the other guy started chocking Abraham, then Daryl went over grabbing his arm and broke his hand, Nathan rolls Rick over and Glenn rushes over, I went to stand up to help but Jesus held me back.

"Stay back! Anybody who tries to stop me is killing my brother!" Nathan shouted at us

"Drop it." Michonne warned him with her hand on her sword then suddenly Rick stabs Nathan in the neck, I close my eyes and look down the when I opened them I saw Rick stand up and look around

"What?" He asked

"Nathan! You killed him." The guy shouted

"He tried to kill Gregory, then me." Rick told him and the girl went over and punched him in the face then Michonne knocked her down

"Don't."

"Drop it now!" The guard tells Rick pointing his spear at him and Jesus moves past me rushing over to them

"I don't think I will."

"Everyone, this is over! It's over. Nathan was our friend, but let's not pretend he was anything more than a coward who attacked us. He did this. And these people stopped him." Jesus tells them

"What can I do?" Rick asked him

"Put the gun away. You've done enough. You need to know that things aren't as simple as they might seem. Just give me some time." Jesus tells him and walks back over to us as Harlan came over to Gregory.

* * *

"Dr. Carson was able to patch Gregory up. He's in pain, but he'll live." Jesus tells us walking into the room we were in

"So, what happens now?" Michonne asked him

"Things like that don't usually happen here, but, uh, it's settled."

"We heard the name Negan. A while back, Daryl and Abraham had a run-in with his men." Rick tells him, "Who is he?"

"Negan's the head of a group of people he calls the Saviors. As soon as the walls were built, the Saviors showed up. They met with Gregory on behalf of their boss. They made a lot of demands, even more threats. And he killed one of us- Rory. He was 16 years old. They beat him to death right in front of us. Said we needed to understand, right off the bat. Gregory's not exactly good at confrontation. He's not the leader I would've chosen, but he helped make this place what it is, and the people like him."

"He made the deal." Maggie points out

"Half of everything. Our supplies, our crops, our livestock, it goes to the Saviors." Jesus told us

"And what do you get in return?" Glenn asked

"They don't attack this place. They don't kill us." He replied

"Why not just kill them?" Daryl asked

"Most of the people here don't even know how to fight, even if we had ammo." Jesus answered

"Well, how many people does Negan have?" Rick asked him

"We don't know. We've seen groups as big as 20."

"Now, hold up. So, they show up, they kill a kid, and you give them half of everything? These dicks just got a good story. The bogeyman, he ain't shit." Daryl points out

"Well, how do you know?" Jesus asked

"A month ago, we took his guys out PDQ. Left them in pieces and puddles." Abraham said

"You know, we'll do it. If we go get your man back, kill Negan, take out his boys, will you hook us up? We want food, medicine, and one of them cows." Daryl adds and I shake my head, only him

"Confrontation's never been something we've had trouble with." Rick mentions and it was true

"I'll take it to Gregory." Jesus says and leaves, Rick, Michonne, and Glenn left after.

* * *

"Ready?" Harlan asked me and Daryl as I laid on the bed in the medical trailer so he could take an ultra sound of the baby. Our machine back home stopped working and Denise could only tell so much without it. I nodded my head as Daryl held my hand while Harlan put the wand on my stomach moving it around then we hear it, our baby's heartbeat, I smiled looking at the screen then at Daryl who kissed my head, "Everything looks great."

"Can you tell what it is yet?" I asked him

"Sadly not yet, you have to be at least 5 months along for me to know for sure." He said and I nodded my head then he printed us out a picture. I took it and we walked out of the trailer heading to the RV driving off. Maggie and Glenn had gotten an ultra sound too, me and Maggie looked at each others photos then passed them around. Once I got mine back I laid my head on Daryl's shoulder still looking at it. It really was a miracle.


	21. Chapter 21

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

"And we can work with the Hilltop. Maggie hammered out a deal. We're getting food- eggs, butter, fresh vegetables. But they're not just giving it away." Rick tells the people who came to the church after we got home, "These Saviors, they almost killed Sasha, Daryl, and Abraham on the road." He tells them and I looked at Daryl, "Now, sooner or later, they would've found us, just like those Wolves did, just like Jesus did. They woulda killed someone or some of us. And then they would try to own us. And we would try to stop them. But by then, in that kind of fight, low on food, we could lose. This is the only way to be sure, as sure as we can get, that we win. And we have to win. We do this for the Hilltop, it's how we keep this place. It's how we feed this place. This needs to be a group decision. If anybody objects, here's your chance to say your piece." He finished and everyone stayed quiet until Morgan spoke up

"You're sure we can do it? We can beat them?" Morgan asked him

"What this group has done, what we've learned, what we've become, all of us- yes, I'm sure."

"Then all we have to do is just tell them that." Morgan says and I looked at him confused

"Well, they don't compromise." Rick says

"This isn't a compromise. It's a choice you give them. It's a way out, for them and for us."

"We try and talk to the Saviors, we give up our advantage, our safety." Rick says Morgan, "We have to come for them before they come for us. We can't leave them alive."

"Where there's life, there's possibility." Morgan says to me

"Of them hitting us." Rick adds

"We're not trapped in this. None of you are trapped in this."

"Morgan...they always come back." Rick tells him

"Come back when they're dead, too."

"Yeah, we'll stop them. We have before." Rick mentioned

"I'm not talking about the walkers."

"Morgan wants to talk to them first. I think that would be a mistake, but it's not up to me. I'll talk to the people still at home. I'll discuss it with the people on guard now, too, but who else wants to approach the Saviors, talk to them first?" Rick asked everyone else and Aaron stands up

"What happened here, we won't let that happen again. I won't."

"Looks like it's settled. We know exactly what this is. We don't shy from it, we live. We kill them all. We don't all have to kill. But if people are gonna stay here... they do have to accept it." Rick tells them and leaves

* * *

"You're not going" Daryl told me as I gathered up my stuff then looked at him

"I'm just gonna be on look out with Maggie. I'll be fine"

He walked over to me and put one hand on my face and the other on my stomach, "I won't be there to save you if something goes wrong, what if.."

"Daryl, I know you're worried, I am too but...I can't keep playing it safe here. I wanna help. Please let me"

He looked at me then sighed pulling me into a hug, "How can I say no to you?"

I chuckled then looked at him, "You can't" I said and we finished getting ready

* * *

"Describe it." Rick tells Andy who is drawing the layout of the building for us

"Rectangular building, big satellites on it."

"Any windows?" Rick asked him

"I don't remember any. I think they made it so there's only one way in."

"Guards outside?" I asked him

"Yeah, two of them, at least."

"And you don't know how many people they have?" Michonne asked

"No. Uh, I mean, no. I saw a place where they stored food. It wasn't that big, so..."

"You've been inside?" Rick asks

"Yeah. They had us load in supplies one time."

"Hmm. What do you remember?" Glenn asked putting another piece of paper on the table in front of Andy.

"And you didn't see any other rooms?" Maggie asked him

"No, it's a big place. This is the hallway I saw. There is more."

"And every time, they had you bring things into here?" I ask pointing to the pantry part of the paper

"Jesus. We brought a couple spears for them. Two of the Saviors took them down this hallway. Now, they must've done something with them because they didn't come back with them."

"Maybe a weapons locker, an armory." Jesus points out

"Okay. We get in there, secure the armory, that's how we end it." Glenn mentioned

"That's how Carol ended it here." Maggie adds

"But we don't know if they have an armory or where it even is." Andy points out

"Well, we've got a lot of good guesses. We've done more with less." Daryl tells him

"We go in at night while they're sleeping." Rick says to us

"The guards won't be sleeping. Like I said, I think there's only one way in and there's no way to bust through that door without waking up the rest of them." Andy says to him

"We don't need to. They're going to open it for us, let us walk right in. They want Gregory's head, right? We're gonna give it to them."

* * *

 **Carol POV...**

"We're gonna take a look around, try to get a feel for how many people are in there. We like how it looks, we go in. A couple of hours before dawn. The guards outside'll be tired. Everyone inside'll be sleeping. We don't like what we see, we head back, make a new plan." Rick says to all of us and I look over at Phoebe, why is she here? Why is Maggie here?, "They don't know who we are. We'll keep Jesus in the shadows. This is how we eat. This is how we eat. We roll out at midnight." He says and walked away

"Why are Maggie and Phoebe here?" I asked him as he walked towards me

"They're guarding the perimeter."

"Yeah, but why are they here?" I asked trying to get my point across to him

"'Cause it's their choice."

"I want to stay out there with them." I told him

"Well, this whole thing's a race to the armory. We need as many people inside as we can get."

"They shouldn't be out there alone. They shouldn't be out here in the first place." I said

"Okay."

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

"Please be safe" I tell Daryl and he pulled me into a hug

"You too"

"I love you" I said to him and he kissed me

"I love you too"

* * *

I stood there on the side of the road looking into the woods when my mom walked up to, "Don't start" I told her still looking out into the woods still

"You know how reckless this is?" She asked me and I sighed then faced her

"I said don't start, ok? Trust me Daryl doesn't like it either but it's fine, I'll be fine, so will Maggie" I said and looked forward again

"Did you even consider what would happen to your baby if..."

"Stop! Just stop mom," I said facing her again, "I am a big girl and I can take care of myself. I won't let anything happen to my baby and I need you to trust me on this. Please." I pleaded and she just walked away.

Suddenly an alarm went off, "They're in trouble." Maggie says and we both start to move forward

"Stay here." My mom told us

"We're going with you." I told her

"I said stay here."

"No." I insisted

"Damn it, Phoebe." She says grabbing my arm

"We have to." Maggie says

"No, you don't. You don't have to."

"Yes, we do." Maggie told her

"What the hell are you two doing here?" My mom asked

"What are we supposed to do?" I asked her

"You're both supposed to be someone else." She says and I looked at her

"They need our help" Maggie said and we hear a walker behind us, my mom moved passed us and killed it.

"You are staying here" She tells both of us

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

We walk out of the compound to a fenced in area with cars after we dealt with the Saviors, just then we hear an engine roar and turn to see a man drive out on a motorcycle, my motorcycle

"Son of a bitch!" I yell and run after him, Rosita shot the guy making him fall off the bike and I land on him then punched him, "Where'd you get the bike?" I asked as Rick pointed his gun at the guy.

"Just do it! Like you did everyone else, right?"

 _"Lower your gun, prick."_ We hear a lady say over the walkie, _"You, with the Colt Python. All of you, lower your weapons right now."_

"Come on out. Let's talk." Rick responded picking up the walkie

 _"We're not coming out, but we will talk,"_ She says and there's a pause, _"We've got a Carol, Phoebe and a Maggie. I'm thinking that's something you want to chat about."_ She tells us. I felt my heart stop when I hear Phoebe's name, I knew I shouldn't have let her come. I stand up and point my gun at the guy I tackled off the bike.

"You can see we have one of yours. We'll trade." Rick tells her

 _"I'm listening."_

"First I want to talk to Maggie, Phoebe and Carol, make sure they're all right.

" _Rick, it's Carol. I'm- I'm fine, but-"_ She started to said but was cut off, " _Rick, it's Maggie. We're both okay. We'll figure thi-"_ Maggie was cut off then I hear her, _"I'm ok, everything will be-"_ She got cut off as well and I tightened the grip on my gun, " _You have your proof. Let's talk."_

"This is the deal right here. Let 'em go, you can have your guy back and live."

 _"Three for one, that's not much of a trade."_ The woman said to him

"You don't have another choice or you would've done something about it already." Rick says and there's a pause, "Look, I know you're talking it over. It's a fair trade. Just come out, we do this, we all walk away. Do we have a deal?"

 _"I'll get back to you."_

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

"You are staying here" My mom told us then I see her pull out her gun pointing it in our direction, both me and Maggie whipped around trying to grab our when we see a man walking towards us. My mom shot the guy then Maggie moves over to him raising her gun, "Damn it, Maggie, let's go!" My mom said

"Not until it's done."

"Stop! Or she's dead." A woman told her as she and another woman point a gun at the both of us and another one pointed one at Maggie, "Guns, knives on the ground right now." the lady told us and I raise my hands up putting my gun down then my knife

"Nice jacket." The older one who had a gun aimed at me said to Maggie

"For a murderous bitch." The one by Maggie says

"Well, we'll take it off her before we shoot her." The red head next to my mom says to them and the man my mom shot stands up

* * *

"It ain't on there right, I can feel it. It ain't stopping." The man says to the older woman

"I'm getting it tighter. Jesus, give me a second."

"Son of a bitch, you're cutting off my circulation." He told her

"Well, sport, it's supposed to." She said to him and I hear distant gunfire and an engine, a familiar engine

"Hell was that?" The younger woman asked

"It's Primo. Damn it, they've got him. Give me the walkie." The red head told the man

"Babe, what's happening?"

"Lower your gun, prick. You, with the Colt Python. All of you, lower your weapons right now." The red head told Rick over the radio

 _"Come on out. Let's talk."_

"How many we got?" the older woman asked the red head

"Eight in sight. Too many."

"No, we can take 'em. We took more." The man told her

"We're not coming out, but we will talk." She says over the radio then looked at us, "Names. Names!"

"I'm Maggie, that's Phoebe and she's Carol." Maggie told her

"We've got a Carol, Phoebe and a Maggie. I'm thinking that's something you want to chat about." She told Rick, "Now, we're gonna work this out right now, and it's going to go our way."

 _"You can see we have one of yours. We'll trade."_ Rick offered

"I'm listening."

"First I want to talk to Maggie, Phoebe and Carol, make sure they're all right." Rick says and I hear a walker growling

"I'm gonna put you on. You say you're fine. I'll know if you try anything else." The woman told us and put the walkie by my mom

"Rick, it's Carol. I'm- I'm fine, but-" She got cut off and the woman moved it to Maggie

"Now you." She told her

"Rick, it's Maggie. We're both okay. We'll figure thi-" The woman cut her off

"Shut up." Then she came to me

"I'm okay, everything will be-"

She moved away then looked through the binoculars again, "You have your proof. Let's talk."

 _"This is the deal right here. Let 'em go, you can have your guy back and live."_

"Three for one, that's not much of a trade." She told him

"You don't have another choice or you would've done something about it already."

"We have to get him back." The man said to the red head

"Primo can take care of himself. He can patch me up. I need him, thanks to that bitch. You lost your balls, Paula. You should've shot her in the head so they could hear her die."

"If you could just shut up, I'll solve this." Paula says to him

"Then make the deal or we go in."

"She said shut up, so shut it. You should be glad she doesn't have a sack of gonads to trip over." The older lady told him

 _"Look, I know you're talking it over. It's a fair trade. Just come out, we do this, we all walk away."_ Rick told Paula over the radio

"Smug prick. He must think we're stupid." The younger girl says

"That's a good thing." Paula mentioned

 _"Do we have a deal?"_ Rick asked

"I'll get back to you." Paula told him and I looked at Maggie and my mom then suddenly the back of my coat gets put over my head

* * *

"Move!" Paula told us as I tried to walk as carefully as I could without tripping while looking at the ground under my coat, I dragged my feet a few times and would hit a small branch with my legs to try and leave a trail for Daryl so they could find us, "Turn." She says and I see a part of a road and we stop, "Wait." We get put in the car and I see a pair of hands tape mind together, "Omega, omega, Saviors down. Go to Gamma, code "fire." Alpha channel is not clear. We follow the protocol." She says over the radio, "Where the hell are you guys?"

"Out west of the-" A male voice responded then it cut out, "15 mi- on- way."

"We're headed to the break point. Switch to Theta channel, same code. If I'm not there, toggle to Alpha, listen in." She told the guy

"Copy that."

* * *

"I hate this damn place. Safe house." The older lady says as we walk into some sort of building, "There ain't nothing safe about it."

"This place is gonna save our asses." Paula told her and we walk a little further then our coats get removed, I see a walker in front of Maggie but then Paula kills it, "Get on the ground. You there." She told me pointing to one side of the room, "You, over there." She tells my mom pointing to the wall across from me, "and you there" She says to Maggie pointing to a wall by me, I sit down then look at my mom who glanced at me, "You're wondering if there's a way out of this. There isn't. Not unless I say so." She said to us then tapes my mom's feet, then Maggie's, then mine

"Paula, I need backup!" The younger girl yells to her outside of the room

"I want to kill you three right now. It's taking all I have not to, so go ahead, I dare you, try something. Just see what happens." Paula warned us then walked out closing the door behind her.

I started to look around at the same time Maggie did then I started to use the corner of the wall to try and cut my tape and I see my mom use her feet to move a necklace to her, I then see Maggie try to use the corner of a machine next to her when we hear the gunfire stop, me and Maggie looked at each other then moved ourselves back to sitting how we were. Suddenly my mom starts to hyperventilate and I look at her confused then looked at Maggie who shrugged then the other door opened

"When's the last time anyone checked this place?" Paula asked helping the guy in and putting him down against the wall by the door

"It was fine a month ago." THe younger woman says

"Sweetie, that was a month ago. shit hards quick." The older one tells her, "The guns have gone bye-bye, the food's gone bye-bye, and we got growlers up and down the halls."

"Means people can get through, too. Maybe we should get gone." The man pointed out and I looked back at my mom as she continued to hyperventilate

"Mom!" I yelled but it was muffled and they continued talking

"Yeah? Where the hell to?" The younger girl asked him

"Nowhere. Got dead in the halls? Free security. Those assholes get here before our people, the cold bloods will buy us some time." Paula says to them tending to the mans arm

"Jesus, it's bleeding. It's not supposed to keep bleeding." The man pointed out

"Molly, give me the rope." Paula tells her

"I'm not losing it. I'm not." The man said

"So you grind it out. Jesus, Donnie." The younger one says

"Screw you, 'Chelle! We have to get him back. He can fix it. We have to, Paula." Donnie told her

"No. I saw them, you didn't. They took the place down, they got the guns, they'll kill us, too."

"Hey!" I yelled through my gag

"I'm not going down like that, not after making it this far." Paula continued

"Hey!" I yelled again and Paula walked over to me taing my gag off

"What?"

"She's hyperventilating. Somebody needs to take her gag off." I told them

"She's a nervous little bird, ain't she?" Molly pointed out moving over and taking my moms gag off

"Look at you. Bitch, how did you make it this far?" 'Chelle asked her pointing a gun at her and I glared at the girl

"Honey, you need to take some yoga breaths and calm your ass down." Molly says to my mom

"I can't-" my mom panted reaching for her pocket and Molly pulled out a rosary necklace then handed it to my mom who calmed down and held it to her, I sat there looking at her confused

"Oh. You're one of those." Molly says

"What are you so afraid of? Are you actually afraid to die?" Paula asked my mom then scoffed, "All this and you're scared of getting your ticket punched."

"It doesn't matter what happens to me. Just don't hurt Maggie or Phoebe. Don't hurt their babies." My mom told her and I looked at her then Maggie

"Yeah, right." 'Chelle says turning and pointing the gun at me then Maggie

"They each got a bun in the oven, they don't look it." Donnie says

"We're only two months" Maggie says after 'Chelle took her gag off

"You both are some kind of stupid, getting knocked up at a time like this." Paula says to us and Maggie chuckled, "You think that's funny?"

"When was it ever smart to get knocked up? Women used to just die in childbirth. And they always thought the world was gonna end. Living through it, why would you just give up?" Maggie asked her

"But are you gonna live through it?" Paula asked, "Anyway, that's cute. Babies are the point. Children are our future. Making bite-size snacks for the dead. The point is to stay standing."

"No. Walkers do that. We're choosing something." I told her

"That's right. You are. You did." She says and walked out of the room

Molly reached into her pocket and pulled out a pack of smokes lighting one while Donnie groaned then Molly coughed, "The babies." My mom told her and Molly looked at us then laughed

"Honey, in case you haven't noticed, you've got bigger problems than a little secondhand smoke."

"Molls." 'Chelle said and Molly snuffed it out

"Y'all are worse than a bunch of evangelical second graders." Molly told us and started cughing again then hacking

"Those things'll kill you." My mom pointed out to her

"They already have. I'm a dead woman walking. Which puts us in exactly the same boat."

"Ah!" Donnie groaned and I looked over at him as Paula walked in moving over to him, "My arm feels like it's on fire."

"You pull that off, you gonna be nothing but a spigot." Molly told him

"Okay, hold on. Scout crew is coming. They're 30 minutes out, maybe less." Paula says

"He doesn't have 30 minutes. His nerves are dying. If he doesn't get medical help, he's gonna lose his arm, maybe his life. I'm not a doctor, but my dad lost his leg, and I know that much." Maggie told her

"Your man, Primo, you think he can help you? It's time to end this. Talk to Rick." I insisted

"30 minutes." Paula tells him then stood up

"You know my problem?" Donnie asked standing up and moved towards my mom, "She did this to me. She did it and she's just sitting there right as rain, fully intact."

"Hey." Paula says to him

"No, you're not gonna make the trade then we just do 'em both now."

"No, we wait for the others. We have to be smart. We need insurance." Paula told him

"Then shoot her in the arm, too."

"No." She tells him

"You really gonna stick up for some gutless bitch over me?" He asked then hunched over in pain, "God damn it!"

"Shut up." Paula told him

"Don't push me, Paula." He groaned again

"Shut up!" She yelled at him and he stood up back handing her across the face then went to move to my mom

"Leave her alone!" I yelled kicking his feet then moved myself so I was on my knees then he grabbed my hair picking me up

"No! No!" I hear my mom scream

"You dumb, uppity bitch!" He yelled at me then I head butted him making him stumble back and my mom grabbed his leg but he got free and started kicking her, I was about to move to him but Paula clipped him on the back of his head with the butt of her gun and he fell down then looked at me

"You really are some kind of stupid." She tells me then looked at Maggie, "Take that one out. See if she knows anything. Should've done that before." Paula told 'Chelle who lifted Maggie up and they walk out, "Sit" Paula says to me and I sit back down and look at my mom

"Mom?" I asked looking at my mom who was still laying on the floor, both Molly and Paula looked at me

Paula chuckled, "Mom?" She asked with a smile then looked between us, "Oh that's rich" She says and touched her face again then Molly moved over to her

"He got you good, kid."

"He's in pain. Guys can't handle pain." Paula told her

"Excuse me?" My mom says after sitting up and Paula looked at her, "Just wanted to say thank you for helping Phoebe, for helping me. My husband Ed, he used to-"

"Yeah? I don't care if your old man used to ring your bell." Paula said cutting her off and I looked at my mom, "I see exactly who you are, Carol. I know. You're pathetic. You wanna think we're just the same? Go ahead. You're wrong. He's just a warm body for my bed. That's it. I could kill him in his sleep." She told her then looked at the necklace my mom was holding, "Do you really believe in that crap?"

"My faith got me through the death of my other daughter." My mom says and I clenched my jaw. Did she really just use Sophia as a card

"Hmm. Well, the good news is maybe you'll see her again soon." Paula tells her and it took everything in me to not attack her right now.

* * *

 _"Have you thought about it? Talk to me."_ I hear Rick say over the walkie

"You weren't listening. I said I'd contact you." Paula told him

 _"Would it make a difference if I said I was sorry about that?"_

"What do you think?" She asked him

 _"I think we're gonna make the trade, so tell me where."_

"We haven't agreed to that." She said

 _"You will."_

"You know what? I'm not so sure. We'd be taking most of the risk, not getting much in the way of a reward." She says

 _"The other option won't work out for you."_ He told her

"We'll take our chances." She says to him and put the walkie back on her belt

"You don't have to do this. You don't have to fight." My mom begs to them

"Your people killed all of my people. Of course we gotta fight." Molly told her

"We didn't want to."

"But you did. So tell me why." Paula says

"Your people ambushed my people on the road, tried to take everything we had. They were gonna kill them." My mom cried

"Well, damn. So now we know what happened to T's group. Those idiots. Probably put on a big show." Molly pointed out

"Okay, fair play. You were just defending yourselves. But, see, your people killed them on the road, right? Blew them to pieces. So, why not stop?" Paula asked

"They said they were working for Negan." I told her

"And what do you think you know about Negan?"

"He sounded like a maniac. We were scared. We had to stop him." My mom said

"Sweetie, Sweetie. We are all Negan." Molly told her taking a drag of her smoke then started coughing and I looked at them confused

"What do you mean?" My mom asked, "What does that mean?"

* * *

"Can I have one?" My mom asked Molly and I looked at her

"Well, look at you, little bird. I didn't think you approved."

"I don't." My mom says and Molly put one in her mouth then lit it

"You are weak. What are you so afraid of?" Paula asked her, "So scared, you can't even stick to your own principles."

"You don't want me to stick to my own principles." My mom told her taking a drag

"I was a secretary before. I fetched coffee for my boss and made him feel good about himself. I spent most of my days reading stupid inspirational e-mails to try and feel good about myself. There was this one that kept going around. A young woman was having a hard time and told her mom she wanted to give up, so her mom went to the kitchen and started boiling three pots of water. She put a carrot in one, an egg in another, and ground coffee beans in the last one. After they had boiled a while, her mom said, "Look, all three things went through the same boiling water. The carrot went in strong and came out soft. The egg was fragile and came out hard. But the coffee beans changed the water itself." You're supposed to want to be the coffee beans. See, to me, coffee was just a thing that my boss would drink up. No matter how many times I refilled his damn cup, it was just never enough. I was at work when the Army took over DC. We weren't allowed to leave. They had to evacuate all the important people first- members of Congress, government employees. So I was stuck with my boss. Not my family- my husband, my four girls..." She paused, "My boss was weak and stupid and he was going to die and he was going to take me down, too. He was the first person I killed so that I could live. I stopped counting when I hit double digits. That's right around the time I stopped feeling bad about it. I am not like you. I'm still me, but better. I lost everything and it made me stronger."

"You sure about that?" My mom asked her

"I'm alive."

"With those people, those killers." My mom says

"Your people are killers, Carol. That makes you a killer."

"You- you're the one." My mom said

"Excuse me?"

"You're the one who's afraid to die. And you're going to. You will die. It's what's gonna happen if you don't work this out."

"Are you going to kill me?" She asked my mom

"I hope not."

* * *

"Asshole, are you there?" Paula asked over the walkie

 _"I'm here."_

"We've thought about it. We want to make the trade." Paula told him and I noticed something

 _"That's good."_

"There's a large field with a sign that says "God is dead" about two miles down I-66. Good visibility in all directions."

 _"We'll meet you there. 10 minutes?"_ He asked her

"10 minutes." Paula says and shook her head, "Mm-mm. Now, that was too easy."

"Maybe they're just itching to get their people back." Molly told her

"No, there was no static. There should've been static." Paula pointed out, "They're close. They're probably already here. We were careful, but there were tracks. There had to be." Paula says and my mom looked at me, "They killed everybody back home. They have the weapons. They know what they're doing. They're probably waiting to kill us as soon as we walk out those doors. That's what we'd do."

"No. You have to listen to me, please. Rick is a man of his word. He wouldn't put me, Phoebe and Maggie at risk to attack." My mom told her

"Then he's just as stupid as you are." Paula says and grabbed the radio changing the station, "What's your ETA?"

 _"A few minutes away, but the car is running on fumes."_

"We have gas. We'll fill you up and then we move. Radio when you're back in the perimeter." Paula told the man

 _"Copy that."_

"We gotta get ready. Pull 'Chelle out so she doesn't get stuck in a fight. We have to be ready to move at any second." Paula says putting her bag on

"What about the girl?" Molly asked her

"Leave her for now. If we leave, we travel light. And if the pricks are here, we pick 'em off at the door." Paula told her and opened the door by my mom killing the two walkers that were by it, "Molls we need this hall clear" She tells her and the older lady shut the door

My mom took a deep breath then put the cross of her rosary on the floor and started scraping it then used it to cut her hands free then moved to me and cut mine, "Are you okay?" She asked and I nodded then we left the room running down the hall to a door that said Kill Floor on it looking to see if Maggie was in there then moved again. I checked another door as my mom moved forward and I caught up but she pushed me back as I hear growling

"Just a sec sugar" I hear Molly say then she killed it

We moved to another door and I saw Maggie trying to cut her bindings on a piece of metal on the wall, I opened the door and walked over to her as my mom shut it, "Are you ok?" Maggie asked my mom as she hugged her

"I have to be"

"Phoebe?" Maggie asked me and I nodded my head

"They've spread out, but I think we can make it past them." My mom told us, "We have to try."

"We can't leave them alive." I pointed out

"No, we should just go."

"Carol, we have to finish this. We have to." Maggie tells her

* * *

"He was already dead." Maggie pointed out looking at Donnie, "He's turning."

"We should go." My mom says

"We need a gun." I said

"Give me that." Maggie indicated to the rope she handed my mom

* * *

"Eat shit and die, Donnie!" I hear Molly yell, "Where are ya, Magnolia? I wanna bloody up that nice-" She got cut off when Maggie got her from behind grabbing her knife then gun and started killing Molly with the handle then handed it to me

"Let's go." Maggie tells us and we left the room moving down a hall to see a few walkers on some metal poles alive

"They're using them to keep us in, keep the others out." I pointed out

"Come on. We have to find 'em." Maggie says and killed one coming towards us then gunshots went off and my mom grabbed Maggie pulling her down as I ducked then I feel my mom grab the gun from me and point it at Paula

"Just run."

"Shoot her." I told my mom

"Go on, do it. You've killed Donnie, you've killed Molly. Your people have destroyed my home." Paula tells her

"Get outta here."

"Carol." Maggie says

"You have no idea. The things I've done, what I've given up, what I had to do."

"Just run."

"Mom, shoot her." I told her

"Go ahead. I've already lost everything." Paula says and a walker slipped off a metal pole and went for my mom causing the gun to go off. I grabbed the walker off my mom then Maggie stabbed it

"Paula? Paula?" We hear 'Chelle ask and Maggie stands behind the wall with the knife, "Molly?" She comes out and Maggie swings at her but the girl moves Maggie to the wall then Maggie moves away and I see 'Chelle knee Maggie in the stomach, or at least I thought she did then Maggie threw her against another wall and I grabbed the gun from my mom

"You lying bitch!" 'Chelle yelled pulling out a knife swinging it at Maggie who dodged it then I see it go at her stomach but luckily it only got her shirt. I moved over to them as 'Chelle stood there and shot her in the head then we walked back down the hall Paula was at.

"I'll do it." My mom says to us taking the gun from me

"You're good. Nervous little bird. You were her. But not now, right? Me, too."

"I told you to run." My mom says to her

"If you could do all this, what were you so afraid of, Carol?"

"I was afraid of this." My mom told her moving closer. Paula laughed then knocked the gun away from my mom and they start to struggle and my mom shoved her onto the metal pole a walker was on and it started to eat her face

 _"Paula, we're approaching the perimeter. Are we a go?"_ A man asked over the walkie and my mom grabbed it, _"Do you copy?"_

"Meet us on the kill floor." My mom says imitating Paula

* * *

"I think I might have killed 18 people. 20." My mom told us as we stood by the door waiting, "I should've killed Donnie, too, in the woods. I had a clear shot. I didn't miss. None of this would've happened if I had just killed him."

"Don't think about it." I told her

"I can't stop."

"We're almost done." Maggie says and we hear foot steps

"Careful. The floor's slick." One man said

"You sure this is it?" Another asked him

"She said kill floor."

My mom grabs a smoke out and lights it, "Hey, this one's locked." Another man says and we shut the door as my mom threw the cigarette in theresetting them on fire with the gasoline we poured

"What the hell?! Agh!"

* * *

We make our way back down the hall and see a now turned Paula on the pole with the other walker, Maggie killed her with the knife then the other one, I killed one on the floor and we walked to the entrance door. Maggie opened it and I aimed the gun up seeing the others standing there. Glenn rushed to Maggie as Daryl moved to me pulling me into a hug

"Maggie. You okay?" Glenn asked her

"We got your trail." Daryl told me and I sniffled as he kissed my head, "You start a fire?" Daryl asked my mom hugging her

"Yeah."

"Hey, you good?" He asked me

"No."

"Come here." He pulled me back into a hug

"They're dead. They're all dead, the ones that took us. They're all dead." Maggie says

"Hey, are you okay?" Glenn asked her

"I just... I can't anymore."

"Your friends are dead. No one's coming for ya. So you might as well talk." Rick says to the man they had who I assumed was Primo

"Let him burn." Daryl said

"I'm gonna ask you one last time... how'd you get the bike?" Rick asked the guy

"We found it."

"Like hell you did." Daryl told him

"We found it."

"Was Negan in that building last night or was he here?" Rick asked Primo

"Both. I'm Negan, shithead." He tells Rick, "There's a whole world of fun that we can talk about, so let's have a chat."

"I'm sorry it had to come to this." Rick says to him then killed him. Daryl pulled me to him and I buried my face into his shoulder as he rubbed my back

"Let's go home" Daryl tells all of us and we left.


	22. Chapter 22

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

It's been a few days since the compound, I was sitting on the steps of our porch watching Daryl fix up his bike when my mom walked over, "Didn't even notice. Got your bike back."

"Yeah. You got another one of those?" He asked her indicating to her cigarette and she handed him one from her pack and he lights it

"Those people you met, the ones in the burnt forest, they took it from you?" She asked him

"Yeah."

"You saved them, right? Sorry. It's who you are. We're still stuck with that." She tells him

"No, we ain't. I should've killed them." He told her and I put my head down then got up and walked away.

* * *

"After I got out of DC, I just drove. I remember seeing it right when I realized I had no idea where I was going. Edison's Apothecary and Boutique. It's just this little gift shop in a strip mall, but if it's really an apothecary, they had drugs." Denise tells Daryl after I walked back over to the house

"How do you know they still got 'em?" He asked her

"It isn't that far. I just wanna check. And you and Rosita aren't out scavenging or pulling shifts."

"We'll go." He says indicating to Rosita as I leaned against the railing, after what happened Daryl was never gonna let me do anything like that again.

"I wanted to check. I just wanted to help." Denise says

"How much time you spend out there?" Daryl asked her

"None."

"Forget it." He said

"I can ID the meds. I know how to use a machete now. I've seen roamers up close. I'm ready."

"You good with this?" Daryl asked Rosita

"No."

"I'll go alone, if I have to." Denise told them

"You'll die alone." Daryl pointed out

"I'm asking you to make sure I don't."

"I'm not babysitting her by myself." Rosita says

* * *

"Let me guess, you're not letting me go" I mentioned to Daryl as he finished getting ready

"No"

"Daryl..." I started to say but he walked over to me

"Look what happened last time. I said you could go then you, Maggie and your mom get taken. You ended up killing someone, and I had no idea what was gonna happen to you or our baby"

"That was different, you guys were going after bad people. This is a simple pharmacy run." I told him

"It ain't happening" He told me then went back over to his bag

"So what if something happens to you? Hmm? I'm just suppose to sit here and not know if you're dead or alive like I did last time?" I asked him

"That's not the same"

"How is it not the same? Anytime we step out of those walls there is a chance we could get attacked by walkers, those Saviors, or something else. This way if I go with I don't have to worry if I'm raise our child by myself" I told him and he huffed then looked at me

"No matter what you stay by me, no wondering off, no nothing. Got it?" He asked and I nodded my head as he pulled me to him, "Why do you have to be stubborn?"

"Because I married you" I said and he scoffed then kissed me. He deepened it and I moaned but pulled away, "Okay, as much as I want to continue we need to go" I tell him and he gave me another quick kiss and we left

* * *

Me, Denise, and Daryl sat in the truck while Rosita sat in the back I was next to Daryl as he drove and the gear kept grinding while Daryl shifted, "It- the..." Denise started to say

"What?" Daryl asked her

"Forget it."

"No, what?" He asked again

"I think maybe you're disengaging it too soon. I've been driving stick since I was 15, usually beat-up trucks like this. I mean, before- you know, before I left home. My brother taught me, so I just know." She tells him and he still did it, I saw Denise shake her head then I looked forward

"Daryl." I told him seeing a tree down in the road so he stopped the truck

"Stay here." He told me and Denise, I nodded as him and Rosita walked over to it. I see Rosita kill a walker that was in the tree as Daryl looked around. Then Denise's door opened

"Come on, it's clear" Rosita tells us and Denise got out as I opened the driver door and got out as well then Daryl walked over grabbing the bags out and I took mine from him

"What'd you find?" Denise asked Rosita

"Bottles of booze. Any takers?"

"No, thanks." Denise says to her

"For later. I'm not bringing these to the pantry."

"I'm good. They were kind of my parents' thing. Which is why they aren't mine." Denise told her

"That truck ain't gonna make it past this tree. Come on, let's walk." Daryl told us and I followed him

"Hold up. Looks like a straight shot if we follow the tracks." Denise pointed out

"No. No tracks. We'll take the road." He says, I knew why he didn't want to take the tracks

"That's twice as far." Rosita pointed out

"Go whichever way you like. I ain't taking no tracks." Daryl says and I walked with him

* * *

"About time." Rosita says to me, Denise and Daryl as we come up on the other set of tracks she was sitting on and we moved on.

"You doing okay?" Daryl asked me

"Same answer it was 10 minutes ago, I'm fine"

"Hey," He says to me as he grabbed my hand, "I'm allowed to be worried alright?"

"I know, but I'm okay. I will tell you if I'm not"

We get up to the building and Daryl knocked on the door, "All right, me and her are gonna do this. You're gonna stay back, got it?" He says to me and Denise who nodded. He handed me his rifle then reached into his bag pulling out a crowbar prying open the door and I handed him the gun back then we walk in, the smell was overpowering and I put the back of my hand over my mouth as Daryl rubbed my back then I hear Denise gag, "We gonna find out what you had for breakfast?" Daryl asked her

"Oatmeal. Just so you know." Denise says and I nodded my head to Daryl telling him I was okay and we moved forward

"Hey." Rosita called to us and we see a window for the pharmacy then Daryl moves over to open it

"You want me to hold your bags, or...?" Denise asked them as Daryl gets the window open, "If you set 'em on the counter, I can tell you which."

"No, we're gonna take it all." Daryl told her climbing in

"Are you sure? Because-"

"No, it's fine." Rosita says following him and we hear a thudding noise coming from another room

"It's just one, it sounds like it's stuck" I point out and they continue what they were doing as I stood by the window and I didn't even see Denise move towards the door until she rushed out shutting it then ran into a shelf knocking glass bowls down

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked waking over to her

"Nothing." She says and walked out

* * *

"Hey. You did good finding this place." Daryl told her as we walked out seeing her sitting ion the sidewalk, it looked like she was crying

"Tried to tell you you weren't ready. We both did." Rosita told her

"I know."

* * *

"So was he older or younger?" I asked Denise as we made our way back to the truck

"Older. By six minutes. My parents came up with the Dennis/Denise thing on one of their benders. Hilarious, right?" She asked and I smiled, "Nothing scared him. He was brave. He was angry, too. It's kind of a dangerous combination."

"Sounds like we had the same brother." Daryl told her and I looked at him grabbing his hand and he started to walk towards the tracks

"Hey." Rosita called to him

"This way's faster, right?" He asked and looked at me, I smiled then we continued our way down the tracks until we come up on some cars

"There's a cooler in there!" Denise called and I see her standing by a car, "Might be something we can use inside."

"We got what we came for." I told her

"Nah, ain't worth the trouble, come on." Daryl agreed as we started to move again but then we hear her give a small scream and I quickly ran over to her with Daryl and Rosita following me

"No, don't!" She yells to me as I get to her with my knife out and she struggled then killed the walker then looked at us then stood up. After a moments she faced us then threw up, I turned away and Daryl put his hand on my shoulder, "Oh, man. I threw up on my glasses." She says and opened up the cooler, "Hot damn."

"What the hell was that? You could've died right there, you know that?" I told her

"Yeah, I do."

"Are you hearing me?" I asked

"Who gives a shit? You could've died killing those Saviors, all three of you, but you didn't. You wanna live, you take chances. That's how it works. That's what I did."

"For a couple of damn sodas?" Daryl asked her

"Nope. Just this one." She told him holding up one walking past us

"Are you seriously that stupid?" Rosita asked her as we followed her

"Are you? I mean it. Are you? Do you have any clue what that was to me, what this whole thing is to me? See, I have training in this shit. I'm not making it up as I go along, like with the stitches and the surgery and the...I asked you to come with me because you're brave like my brother and sometimes you actually make me feel safe." She says to Daryl, "And I wanted you here because you're alone. Probably for the first time in your life. And because you're stronger than you think you are, which gives me hope that maybe I can be, too." She tells Rosita, "And I know you came with because you would rather be with him in the face of danger then back at home alone worrying about him" She told me and I looked at Daryl, "I could've gone with Tara. I could've told her I loved her, but I didn't because I was afraid. That's what's stupid. Not coming out here, not facing my shit. And it makes me sick that you guys aren't even trying because you're strong and you're smart and you're all really good people, and if you don't wake..." She started to say but then suddenly an arrow goes through her eye, "up...and face your..." She stopped saying as she fell to the ground with Daryl catching her and we see a few people come out of the trees. Both me and Rosita raised our guns followed by Daryl as I see a blond guy with a half burned face holding Daryl's crossbow stand there holding Eugene.

"You drop 'em now!" He warned and I hesitated then put mine down, "Well, hell. You got something to say to me? You gonna clear the air? Step up on that high horse?" He asked Daryl who's anger I could feel from next to me, "No. You don't talk much." He nodded to some of the guys who came over and searched us taking my knife and my bag and I glanced at the crossbow, "Still getting the hang of her. Kicks like a bitch, but-"

"I should've done it." Daryl cut him off

"Oh, what's that? Seriously, I didn't catch what you said."

"I should've killed you." Daryl told him

"Yeah, you probably should've. So, here we are. Kind of begs the question, right? Who brought this on who? I mean, I get that you'll just have to take my word for this, but... she wasn't even the one I was aiming for." The guy says and I clentch my fist, "Like I said, kicks like a bitch. It's nothing personal. Look, this isn't how we like to start new business arrangements, but, well, you pricks kind of set the tone, didn't you?"

"What do you want?" Rosita asked him

"I'm sorry, darlin', I didn't catch your name. I'm D, or Dwight. You can call me either. So? What's your name?"

"Rosita. What do you want?" She asked again

"Well, Rosita... it's not what I want. It's what you, Daryl, and..what's your name?" He asked me

"Don't talk to her" Daryl said defensively and Dwight smiled

"Now don't be rude, what's your name?" Dwight asked me again ignoring Daryl

"Phoebe"

"Hmm Phoebe, like I was say you three are going to let us into your little complex. It looks like it's just beautiful in there. And then you're going to let us take whatever and whoever we want..." He says looking at me and Rosita, "or we blow Eugene's brains out. And then yours. And then his. I hope it doesn't come to that, really. Nobody else has to die. We just try and start with one. You know...maximum impact to get our point across. So what's it gonna be?" Dwight asked, "You tell me."

"You wanna kill someone, you start with our companion hiding over there behind the oil barrels." Eugene tells him and I glanced over seeing Abraham hiding, "He's a first-class a-hole and he deserves it so much more than us three."

"Go check it out." Dwight told them and a few of the guys walked over to where Abraham was and I see Eugene look at us then suddenly he moved and bit down on Dwight's well...yeah then Abraham started shooting people from behind the trees. I snatched my knife from one of the guys then stabbed him in the head grabbing my gun

"Phoebe take cover now!" Daryl yelled to me and Rosita pulled me behind a car then we started shooting at them then Daryl ducked behind another car as I see walkers come out of the woods, I shoot one that was getting close to Abraham then shot another one of the men.

"Fall back! Fall back!" Dwight yells at them and they start to back off then I see Dwight raise his gun and shoot at Daryl who ducked and I aimed at him but missed shooting the tree next to him and he looked at me then ran with the rest of them.

Daryl climbs over the car running over and grabbing his crossbow, he was about to follow but I stopped him, "Daryl stop!" I said and he did then looked at Denise moving over to her as me and Rosita moved to Eugene then Abraham came over and the 3 of them lifted Eugene up carrying him away and I followed.

* * *

We stood in the infirmary after we got back and Rosita patched Eugene up with my help, Daryl stood by the window and I walked over to him as he looked out it, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" He asked me still looking out it

"About Denise, about coming with. You were right I can't...I keep putting you through this, that arrow could have hit me and I just..." I was cut off when he pulled me into a hug

"I just want the both of you safe. I'm not trying to be an ass, I'm trying to be a husband and a soon to be father. I can't lose you Pheebs" He says and I look at him

"I can't lose you either, and I know you, you're gonna hunt him down but Daryl, please don't, for me" I told him and he was about to say something when Abraham walked in

"Rick's coming. How is he?" He asked moving to Rosita who was standing by Eugene

"Bullet just grazed him, but it's a good thing we got him back when we did. Antibiotics we picked up could save him from an infection. Could save his life. That's what Denise did." She tells him and Eugene started to cough, "You here?" She asked him

"Present."

"Good." Abraham says and Rosita walked away

"I was not trying to kill you. I was looking for a moment." Eugene says to Abraham

"You found it."

"Do you apologize for questioning my skills?" He asked Abraham

"I apologize for questioning your skills. You know how to bite a dick, Eugene. I mean that with the utmost of respect. Welcome to stage two." Abraham tells him and I gave a light chuckle

"Don't need to welcome me. I've been here a while." He says to him

* * *

Me, Daryl and my mom were finishing burying Denise when Daryl stopped and opened up a small bottle of alcohol drinking it then continued, I looked at him then my mom who gave me a small smile and I finished helping him.

Then we headed home and I headed to the bathroom to shower, to my surprise Daryl followed me in there and I ran my fingers through his hair as he stood under the water. I put my hand on his face and he pulled me to him wrapping his arms around me and buried his head in my shoulder, I hear him sniffle and I kiss his shoulder.

* * *

 **Carol POV...**

I couldn't do it anymore, I won't, as much as it hurts me I have to do this, for them, for her. I quietly walked into their house and made my way up the stairs reaching their bedroom, I slowly opened the door and saw they were asleep with Daryl holding her. I walked in and placed the paper on the night stand next to Phoebe then leaned down and kissed her head then left.

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

I woke up not getting much sleep and I looked over at Phoebe, I couldn't fight it, I have to do this, I should have done this in the first place. I slowly got out of bed trying not to wake her because if I did she would look at me with her beautiful eyes and I wouldn't have a choice but to stay for her. I got dressed then bent down kissing her on the head then moved and kissed her stomach that had our baby inside it, "I'll be back" I whispered to the spot I just kissed and I left.

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

When I woke up the next day I turned in the bed stretching my arm out for Daryl but I sat up when I saw he wasn't there. I went to get out of the bed but stopped when I saw a piece of paper on my nightstand with my mom's hand writing on it. I sat on the edge of the bed and read it.

 _My sweet girl,_

 _I want you to know that what I am about to tell you is my decision and my decision alone. I have been trying so hard since I reunited with you after the prison to hold on to everything I was before, but I can't. I can't be here without having to kill for you, or you having to kill for me. When those people took us and you stopped that guy from hurting me I was more worried for you and your baby then I was for me. I love you Phoebe, more then anything and I know you will want to come after me but don't, please. I'll be okay, this is the only way I can fight who I've become. Take care of yourself, your baby and Daryl, he's gonna need you now and you are gonna need him. I love you, I love my unborn grandchild. Be safe my sweet girl._

I looked at the letter in shock then got up, got dressed and ran out of the house. I make it down the street and see Tobin walking with Rick as they headed to the gate, "Rick!" I yelled and they stopped, "My mom...she's..."

"We know." Rick told me putting his hand on my shoulder as I caught my breath

"How did you.." I started to ask then Rick showed me a letter she wrote Tobin, "We have to.."

"No. Not you, you stay here. We got this" Rick told me

"But..."

"Rick, I took over at 12:00, I was on till 6:00. I never saw anything." Sasha tells him cutting me off

"Front's been quiet since the others left." Abraham says

"What? Who?" I asked him

"Daryl." He said and my heart dropped, _Damn it Daryl_ , "He went ICBM after the Saviors from yesterday. Glenn, Michonne, Rosita, they all went to shut that shit down."

"Where's the other car?" Tobin asked walking to the gate, "We added two more cars yesterday. One of them's missing, the one we put right between those houses."

"You can barely see between the houses from up top, especially at night." Abraham pointed out

"The note, can I see it?" Morgan asked Rick and he handed it to him

"You never saw any headlights, taillights? She's smart enough to cover her tracks." I asked them

"She must've left during the shift change." Sasha says and Morgan walked away

"Where are you going?" Rick asked him

"I'm gonna go find her."

"Wait.' Rick tells him and looked at me, "Tell Carl I'll be back soon. No one else leaves. Everyone else stays ready for a fight."

"Rick..."

"No, I know what you're gonna ask and I can't let you go after either one of them. I'll find her okay?" He says and I fought back tears

"What about Daryl?" I asked him

"The others will find him and bring him home. Don't worry" He tells me putting his hand on my shoulder, ignoring the pain in my heart I nodded my head then walked away

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

I walked through the woods trying to follow the trail I picked up when I hear rustling behind me, I turned around and shot my crossbow at the tree next to Rosita and I see Glenn and Michonne with her

"Watch the hell out, asshole." She tells me taking the arrow out of the tree and I walk over grabbing it from her

"I did. You shouldn't have come."

"You shouldn't have left." Michonne told me

"When I split off from Sasha and Abraham, he was out there in the woods, in that burned-out forest with them girls, put a gun to my head, tied me up. I even tried to help him." I said walking away but Glenn stopped me

"So, you think it's your fault?"

"Yeah, I know it is. I'm gonna go do what I should've done before." I told him and walked away again

"What, for her?" He asked speaking about Denise, "She's gone, man. You're doing this for you."

"Man, I don't give a shit."

"Daryl..." He says and caught up standing in front of me, "We need to get back there and figure this out from home. Our home. Where your wife is," He says and I look at him, "We need you, and everyone back there needs us right now. Phoebe needs you. It's- it's gonna go wrong out here." He begged

"We'll square it. I will. I promise you. Just come back." Michonne adds

"I can't." I said and moved past Glenn

"Daryl."

"Man, I can't!" I said and continued walking. I know he's right, I didn't want to do this to Phoebe, I didn't, but I can't stop, not until it's done.

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

I was sitting with Maggie in the kitchen fiddling with my ring when she grabs my hand, I look at her giving a sad smile then there's a knock on the door and she gets up and walks over to the door letting Enid in, "Scott said you were looking for me? What's up?"

"I need some more help." Maggie tells her handing her a pair of scissors

After about 20 or so minutes of Enid snipping away at Maggie's hair I handed Maggie a mirror and she looked at herself

"I like it. But why?" Enid asked her

"Hmm. I have to keep going. And I don't want anything getting in my way." Maggie tells her then grunts and leans forward a bit, I sat upright and looked at her

"Man, did I go too short? I-I only used to cut my dad's." Enid tells her

"No, it's not that." Maggie tells her and leans forward more

"Maggie?" I asked getting up and she screamed falling to the floor, I grabbed her so she wouldn't hurt herself, "Maggie. Maggie!" I held my arms around her as she screamed and whimpered, "Enid go get Abraham, Aaron, or someone now!" I tell her and she runs out, "It's ok I got you, I got you." I whispered to Maggie as she held her stomach

* * *

Maggie laid on the bed in the back of the RV, we left just a little bit ago to bring her to the Hilltop to their doctor, after Aaron left Rick walked in and I walked out giving them privacy.

Rick walked out and told me Maggie wanted me to go back in, I walked in and sat down next to her, "You ok?"

"I'm holding on"

"I wanna let you know that I'll do anything to protect you and your baby, but you both are gonna be fine and I will get to spoil the living hell out of this kid." She smiles and I feel the RV stop, "I'll be right back" I stood up and walked over to Rick and see people in the road.

"What?" Rick asked Abraham

"Enemy close. We doing this?"

"No." Rick tells him and Abraham puts the RV in park and Rick gets out and I follow him

"He's someone who was with a whole lot of someones who didn't listen." One of the guys says

"We can make a deal right here, right now." Rick says to them

"That's right, we can. Give us all your stuff. We'll probably have to kill one of you. That's just the way it is, but then we can start moving forward on business. All you have to do is listen."

"Yeah... that deal's not gonna work for us. Fact is, I was about to ask for all of your stuff, only I'm thinking I don't have to kill any of you. Any more of you." Rick says and one guy shakes a can of spray paint and paints it on the dead body in front of them

"Sorry, my deal is the only deal. We don't negotiate."

Rick motions for us to get back in the RV, I stay by the door as the others go in waiting for Rick, "Me and my people are leaving."

"Okay, friend. Plenty of ways to get to where you're going."

"You want to make today your last day on Earth?" Rick asked him stopping by the door

"No, but that is a good thing to bring up. Think about it. What if it's the last day on Earth for you? For someone you love? What if that's true? Maybe you should be extra nice to those people in that RV, 'cause you never know. Just like that. Be kind to each other. Like you said... like it was your last day on Earth."

"You do the same" Rick tells him and we get in

* * *

"Logrun Road's a straight shot." I tell them looking at the map with Eugene and Sasha

"We want visibility."

"There, you got it on Shelton. Golf course, country clubs, sloping terrain. No bum rush from the bogeyman. We'd see them from a good piece. It is a longer trip by a third, but we'd get the scenic safety of clear-cut dingles and glens." Eugene tells her

"You're being serious, right?" Sasha asked him

"As coronary thrombosis."

"You got a route?" Rick asked her walking over

"Yeah."

"Let's go" He says and I look out the window at the walker hitting the side of the RV, I have to get Maggie there, no matter what

* * *

"Bitch nuts." I hear Abraham say and I get up to look out the window and Rick joins

"We making our stand?" Sasha asked him

"Yeah, we end it." Carl tells her

"No, not now. They've been waiting. They're ready. With one of us behind the wheel, that's five on 16. We're gonna play it our way, how we want it. Right?" He asked Carl

"Right."

"All right, go slow." He tells Abraham who puts the RV in reverse

* * *

"How are we on gas?" Rick asked

"Half a tank. I pulled some more cans before we left."

"Those weren't the same men who blocked the road the first time." I point out

"Same outfit, different soldiers. They got numbers." Abraham tells Rick

"Yeah, we keep driving, we get her there."

"We will." Sasha says

"If we have to shove each and every one of them up their own asses." Abraham adds and the RV slows down as he stops it as we see a line of walkers standing in the road

"We can't go through it. Can't risk the RV. You stay behind the wheel, just in case. We'll clear it." Rick tells him and he gets out followed by the rest of us with our guns raised

"Putting together a red rover like that takes people. A lot of them." Eugene tells us

"Come on, let's do this." Rick said grabbing his knife

"Dad. That's Michonne's." Carl tells him and I see a piece of Michonne's hair on a walker and I look over at another one and my heart stops

"That's Daryl's." I said seeing two of his bolts in it, then there's gunfire aiming at our feet

"Get back to the RV! Go!" Rick orders us as Abraham pulls me with him and the others start firing at the trees, I see Rick cut a walkers arm giving us our passage then we get in and drive away

* * *

"She's burning up." I tell Rick walking out of the room Maggie was in and I hear the RV squeal

"Rick." Abraham says and I look forward seeing more people in the road

"Son of a bitch" I whisper under my breath

"Go back." Rick tells him

"Where?"

* * *

We walk up to another block in the road, only this time it was trees

"These tracks...they would indicate they not only have people, but some big-ass toys and capabilities." Eugene points out

"What it indicates is we are neck-deep up shit creek with our mouths wide open." Abraham says and suddenly there's a scream and we see a man dangling from the bridge, "Don't." He tells Aaron who's pointing his gun at the man

"I can try and break the chain."

"It won't work." Abraham says to him

"It won't work." I add, "And we need the bullets." I said and the guy dies, just then the trees behind us start on fire.

"You're treating your people good, right? Like it was your last day on Earth? Or maybe one of theirs? You better go. It's gonna get hot. You go get where you're going." We hear a savior tells us and I point my gun up but Rick moves it down

"Go, go" He says and I feel someone pull me back into the RV and we leave

"So, what's the play?" Abraham asked after we got away and stopped then Rick came out

"She needs a doctor."

"There are two more routes north from here." I tell them looking at the map

"They're probably waiting for us right now." Aaron tells me

"So, they're ahead of us, probably behind us. But they're not waiting on us, per se, they're waiting on this rust bucket. And they don't know the moment-to-moment occupancy of said rust-bucket. And the sun sets soon." Eugene says and I look at him

* * *

I finished getting Maggie set up on the stretcher we were gonna carry her on, "Don't worry Maggie, I'll get you both there." I tell her and she slowly nods her head and we carry her out then make for the woods

"Aaron, Phoebe, please. Just let me walk it." Maggie tells us as me and her walk next to her

"Relax. Just a few more miles."

"There's no way in hell I'm letting you off this thing until we get there" I tell her and she looks at me as I put my hand on her shoulder

"I heard what you told her when we were leaving. We can do anything, 'cause we'll do anything we need to do. We have and we will. What happened to Denise, I'm not gonna let anybody die like that again." I hear Carl tell Rick

"Son..." Rick started to say but he stopped when we heard whistling

"What?" I asked him

"Go! Go!" Rick tells us and we start moving faster as the whistling continues

We keep going but stop when a light shines at us and we are surrounded by Saviors, "Good. You made it. Welcome to where you're going. We'll take your weapons. Now." The one Savior tells us and I aim my gun at him standing next to Maggie and I see Eugene on his knees

"We can talk about-" Rick starts to say

"We're done talking. Time to listen." The savior tells him and a few come over taking our guns from us, "That's yours, right?" He asked Carl indicating to his gun, "Yeah, it's yours. Okay. Let's get her down and get you all on your knees." He tells us and two men walk over but I step in front of them, "Lots to cover."

"We got it." I tell them and they grin at me

"Sure, sure." The savior said, me and Aaron help Maggie off the stretcher and I hold onto her so she doesn't fall then help her to the ground

"I got you" I whisper to her kneeling next to her

"Dwight!" The savior yells

"Yeah."

"Chop-chop." He says and the guy goes over to a van

"Come on. You got people to meet." He says and I see a couple guys bring out Daryl, I feel my heart twist in pain seeing that he had a blanket on him and I saw blood, he looked at me and I fought back tears, then I see Michonne, Rosita and Glenn follow him

"Maggie?" Glenn asked

"On your knees!" Dwight tells him grabbing him forcing him to kneel, I kept my eyes on Daryl who looked horrible

"All right! We got a full boat. Let's meet the man." The savior says and knocks on the door of the RV, shortly after a man comes out, leather jacket, red scarf and a barbed wire bat.

"Pissing our pants yet? Boy, do I have a feeling we're getting close. Yep. It's gonna be pee-pee pants city here real soon. Which one of you pricks is the leader?" The man asked

"It's this one. He's the guy." The Savior tells him and the man walks over to Rick

"Hi. You're Rick, right? I'm Negan. And I do not appreciate you killing my men. Also, when I sent my people to kill your people for killing my people, you killed more of my people. Not cool. Not cool. You have no idea how not cool that shit is. But I think you're gonna be up to speed shortly. Yeah. You are so gonna regret crossing me in a few minutes. Yes, you are. You see, Rick, whatever you do, no matter what, you don't mess with the new world order. And the new world order is this, and it's really very simple. So, even if you're stupid, which you very may well be, you can understand it. You ready? Here goes. Pay attention. Give me your shit...or I will kill you. Today was career day. We invested a lot so you would know who I am and what I can do. You work for me now. You have shit, you give it to me. That's your job. Now, I know that is a mighty big, nasty pill to swallow, but swallow it you most certainly will. You ruled the roost. You built something. You thought you were safe. I get it. But the word is out. You are not safe. Not even close. In fact, you are pegged, more pegged if you don't do what I want. And what I want is half your shit. And if that's too much, you can make, find, or steal more, and it'll even out sooner or later. This is your way of life now. The more you fight back, the harder it will be. So, if someone knocks on your door...you let us in. We own that door. You try to stop us and we will knock it down. You understand?" He asked Rick, "What, no answer? You don't really think that you were gonna get through this without being punished, now, did you? I don't want to kill you people. Just want to make that clear from the get-go. I want you to work for me. You can't do that if you're dead, now, can you? I'm not growing a garden. But you killed my people, a whole damn lot of them. More than I'm comfortable with. And for that, for that you're gonna pay. So, now... I'm gonna beat the holy hell outta one of you." He says and I look at Daryl then at the ground, "This- this is Lucille, and she is awesome. All this, all this is just so we can pick out which one of you gets the honor." Negan inhales sharply in front of Abraham and rubs his chin, "Huh. Ugh, I gotta shave this shit. You got one of our guns. Whoa. Yeah. You got a lot of our guns." He stops in front of Carl, "Shit, kid, lighten up. At least cry a little." He walks away stropping in front of Maggie, "Jesus. You look shitty. I should just put you out of your misery right now." He said and I was about to move but Glenn does it instead.

"No! No!" He yells but gets pulled back and a couple saviors beat him

"Stop it! God-!" Maggie pleaded and I put my hand on her shoulder

"Nope. Nope, get him back in line." Negan tells them, "All right, listen. Don't any of you do that again. I will shut that shit down, no exceptions. First one's free. It's an emotional moment, I get it. Sucks, don't it? The moment you realize you don't know shit. This is your kid, right?" Negan asked Rick, "This is definitely your kid."

"Just stop this!" Rick pleaded

"Hey! Do not make me kill the little future serial killer. Don't make it easy on me. I gotta pick somebody. Everybody's at the table waiting for me to order." He says and whistles, "I simply cannot decide. I got an idea." He says and moves over to Rick and points his bat at him, "Eenie..." To Maggie, "meenie..." Abraham, "miney..." Michonne "mo..." Rosita "catch..." Daryl, _no_ , _please_ "a tiger..." me "by...his toe." Sasha "If..." Aaron "he hollers..." Eugene "let him go. My mother..." Carl "told me..." me again "to pick the very best one..." Rick "and you... are..." He lands on his choice "it. Anybody moves, anybody says anything, cut the boy's other eye out and feed it to his father and then we'll start. You can breathe, you can blink, you can cry. Hell, you're all gonna be doing that." He says and swings his bat on their head, "Ho! Ho! Look at that. Taking it like a champ!" He says and hits them again, over and over as I kneel there watching it happen and I look at Daryl failing to fight the tears that fell out of my eyes.

* * *

"Suck...my...nuts." Abraham struggles to say after Negan hit the first time and then hits him again

"Did you hear that? He said, "Suck my nuts." Phew." after a few more blows he holds up his bat, "Oh, my goodness! Look at this! You guys, look at my dirty girl! Sweetheart... Lay your eyes on this." He tells Rosita, "Oh, damn. Were you - Were you together? That sucks. But if you were, you should know there was a reason for all this. Red - and hell, he was, is, and will ever be red. He just took one or six or seven for the team! So take...a damn look." He tells her then I see Daryl jump up and punch him in the face

"Daryl!" I shouted at him as a couple saviors take him down and tears roll down my face

"No! Oh, no. That? Oh, my! That... is a no-no. The whole thing - not one bit of that shit flies here."

"Do you want me to do it?" Dwight asked him pointing Daryl's crossbow at him, "Right here."

"No. No, you don't kill them...not until you try a little." Negan tells him and they move Daryl back to his spot and I look at him, "And anyway... that's not how it works. Now, I already told you people - first one's free, then - what'd I say? I said I would shut that sh1t down! No exceptions. Now, I don't know what kind of lying assholes you've been dealing with... but I'm a man of my word. First impressions are important. I need you to know me. So... back to it." He says and brings the bat down on Glenn, _No,_ I thought to myself as I watched my best friend, Maggie's husband, get killed and my heart shattered even more, "Buddy, you still there?" He asked Glenn who was trying to speak, "I just don't know. It seems like you're trying to speak, but you just took a hell of a hit. I just popped your skull so hard, your eyeball just popped out, and it is gross as shit!"

"Maggie, I'll find you." Glenn gurgles out and I put my hand on hers as she sobbed while Negan started hitting him again and again

"Oh. Oh, hell. I can see this is hard on you guys, I am sorry. I truly am. But I did say it. No exceptions!" He said and beat Glenn some more, tears rolled down my face and my heart was breaking listening to Maggie, "Lucille is thirsty. She is a vampire bat." He says and I squeeze Maggie's hand, "What? Was the joke that bad?"

"I'm gonna kill you." I hear Rick tell him

"What? I didn't quite catch that. You're gonna have to speak up."

"Not today...not tomorrow...but I'm gonna kill you." Rick says again

"Jesus. Simon...what did he have, a knife?" Negan asked

"Uh, he had a hatchet."

"A hatchet?" Negan asked him

"He had an ax."

"Simon's my right-hand man. Having one of those is important. I mean, what do you have left without them? A whole lot of work. Do you have one? Maybe one of these fine people still breathing? Oh. Or did I..." He indicated to Abraham and Glenn, "Sure. Yeah. Give me his ax." He says and the guy brings it over, Negan looks at Rick then grabs him dragging him to the RV, "I'll be right back. Maybe Rick will be with me. And if not, well, we can just turn these people inside out, won't we? I mean... the ones that are left." He says and gets in, after the Engine sputters it started and they drove off

* * *

After finally returning Negan pushes Rick out of the RV, "Here we are. Let me ask you something, Rick -do you even know what that little trip was about?" Negan asked him but he stayed quiet, "Speak when you're spoken to. That trip was about the way that you looked at me. I wanted to change that. I wanted you to understand. But you're still looking at me the same damn way... like I shit in your scrambled eggs, and that's not gonna work. So...do I give you another chance?"

"Yeah, yes, yes" Rick answered

"Okay. All right. And here it is -the grand-prize game. What you do next will decide whether your crap day becomes everyone's last crap day or just another crap day. Get some guns to the back of their heads." He tells the Saviors and a few move behind us pointing guns at our heads, "Good. Now... level with their noses, so if you have to fire...it'll be a real mess. Kid..." He says to Carl, "Right here. Kid...now." He tells him and Carl moves over to him, "You a southpaw?"

"Am I a what?" Carl asked him

"You a lefty?" Negan asked

"No."

"Good." He tells him taking off his belt and tying it on Carl's arm, "That hurt?"

"No."

"Should. It's supposed to. All right. Get down on the ground, kid, next to Daddy. Spread them wings. Simon... you got a pen?"

"Yeah." He says and throwing the pen to Negan

"Sorry, kid. This is gonna be as cold as a warlock's ball sack, just like he was hanging his ball sack above you and dragging it right across the forearm. There you go. Gives you a little leverage."

"Please. Please. Please don't. Please don't." Rick pleaded to him

"Me? I ain't doing shIt. Ahh. Rick, I want you to take your ax... cut your son's left arm off, right on that line. Now, I know-I know. You're gonna have to process that for a second. That makes sense. Still, though, I'm gonna need you to do it, or all these people are gonna die. Then Carl dies, then the people back home die...and then you, eventually. I'm gonna keep you breathing for a few years, just so you can stew on it."

"You - You don't have to do this. We understand. We understand." Michonne begged him

"You understand. Yeah. I'm not sure that Rick does. I'm gonna need a clean cut right there on that line. Now, I know this is a screwed-up thing to ask, but it's gonna have to be like a salami slice - nothing messy, clean, 45 degrees - give us something to fold over. We got a great doctor. The kid'll be fine. Probably. Rick... this needs to happen now - chop, chop - or I will crush the little fella's skull myself."

"It can - It can - It can be me. It can be me. W-W- Y-You can do it to me. I c- I can go with - with you." Rick pleads

"No. This is the only way. Rick... pick up the ax. Not making a decision is a big decision. You really want to see all these people die? You will. You will see every ugly thing. Oh, my God. Are you gonna make me count? Okay, Rick. You win. I am counting. 3!"

"Please." Rick started crying, "Please. It can be me. Please!"

"2!"

"Please, don't do-" Rick pleads more and I squeeze Maggie's hand trying to hold myself back

"This is it."

"Aaah!" Rick yelled

"1."

"Dad... just do it. Just do it." Carl tells him and Rick crys some more then brings his arm up but Negan stopped him

"Rick. You answer to me. You provide for me. You belong to me. Right? Speak when you're spoken to! You answer to me. You provide for me."

"Provide for you." Rick repeats what he said

"You belong to me, right?!" Negan asked him

"Right. Right."

"That... is the look I wanted to see. We did it... all of us, together... even the dead guys on the ground. Hell, they get the spirit award, for sure." Negan said and sighed, "Today was a productive damn day! Now, I hope, for all your sake... that you get it now... that you understand how things work. Things have changed. Whatever you had going for you... that is over now. Ah. Dwight...load him up." He indicates to Daryl and I see Dwight grab him, I was about to move to rush over to him but Sasha and Maggie held me back

"No" I whispered locking eyes with my husband before they shut the door, "No" I cried and Maggie squeezed my hand.

"He's got guts -not a little bitch like someone I know. I like him. He's mine now. But you still want to try something? "Not today, not tomorrow." "Not today, not tomorrow"? I will cut pieces off of... Hell's his name?" Negan asked Simon

"Daryl."

"Wow. That actually sounds right. I will cut pieces off of Daryl and put them on your doorstep-or, better yet, I will bring him to you and have you do it for me. Ahh! Welcome to a brand-new beginning, you sorry shits! I'm gonna leave you a truck. Keep it. Use it to cart all the crap you're gonna find me. We'll be back for our first offering in one week. Until then... ta-ta." He tells us and they drive away, I get up and start to run after them but I feel someone grab me and I see it was Rick, I fall to the ground crying as he hugged me.

"Maggie" I hear Rick say and he moved away from me over to her as she stands, "Maggie, Maggie you need to sit down"

"No."

"We need to get you to the Hilltop." I tell her and she shakes her head

"You need to go get ready." She tells Rick

"For what?"

"To fight them." She says and moves away from me

"They have Daryl. They have an army. We would die - all of us."

"Go home. Take everybody with you. I can get there by myself." She says with her voice breaking

"You can barely stand up." I tell her

"I need to go. You need to go to Alexandria." She says breathing heavily, "You were out-out here for me."

"We still are." Rick says

"I can make it now. I need you to go back. I can't have you out here. I can't have you all out here anymore. I need you to go back."

"Maggie...I'm not letting you go alone, okay?" Rick said to her

"You have to."

"It's not gonna happen." I tell her and Sasha walks up to us

"I'll take her. I'm gonna get her there. I'm gonna keep her safe." Sasha says to us and looked at Maggie, "I'm not giving you a choice."

"I'm taking him with me." She indicated to Glenn, her voice breaks and she bends down trying to lift him but Rick puts his hand on her shoulder, "I need to do this. Please"

"We need to help you." Aaron tells her

"I got it. I got it." Carl says putting his hands on her shoulders

"Pl- Pl- Please let us. He- He's our family, t- He's our family, too." Rick says and Maggie moves going into Carl's arms

"You're okay." He reassured her as Rick, Aaron and Carl grab him

"All right. On three. 1, 2..." They lift him up and bring him to the truck, I pull Maggie to me and she cries into my shoulder

"I'm so sorry Maggie." I tell her and she tightened her arms around me while I feel my heart breaking, not only because we lost two of our best friends, our family, but because my husband was now taken by these assholes. I don't know what's gonna happen to him but all I know is right now I can't even breath.


	23. Chapter 23

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

 **Daryl POV...**

As I sat in the tiny dark room they had me in, naked, I kept thinking about everything that happened. Glenn, Abraham...both of them are dead now, and Phoebe, my Phoebe, what was she doing there? I could only assume it had something to do with how Maggie looked, she looked horrible and knowing Phoebe she was with them to get her to the doctor at the Hilltop. That's one of the reasons I loved her, she had such a big heart and would do anything for the people she loves. Now I was here, and she was back home dealing with the death of our friends, our family, and it killed me, I just want to hold her and tell her it's gonna be okay.

Suddenly my cell door opened up and I put my hand up because the light was bright, I saw Dwight standing there holding a sandwich for me, that disgusting dog food sandwich that I was forced to eat, I wanted nothing more then to grab it and shove it down his throat, but I won't. I'll play nice, but they won't break me, nothing is gonna break me.

* * *

'We're on Easy Street , And it feels so sweet, 'Cause the world is but a treat, When you're on Easy Street, And we're breaking out the good champagne, I'm sittin' pretty on a gravy train'

This god awful song. I don't know how long I've been in here, days, weeks, I wasn't sure. I do know one thing.

'And when we sing, every sweet refrain repeats, Right here on Easy Street'

This song could drive the most sane person in the world mad, like clock work this damn song would go off.

'Let's have a moment in the sun, The magic's only just begun'

I would rather deal with walkers, hell even the Governor again then hear this god...damn..song. I hear the door unlock and I stand up as it opens seeing Dwight once again with the other form of torture. I, of course, grab it and eat it to play along while hearing that song

* * *

I had finally managed to fall asleep, I thought of home, and my home is my wife, our unborn child. I will not let her raise our baby by herself. I will go back to her, no matter what.

I got maybe 10 minutes of sleep when suddenly...

'We're on Easy Street , And it feels so sweet, 'Cause the world is but a treat, When you're on Easy Street, And we're breaking out the good champagne, I'm sittin' pretty on a gravy train'

I hope whoever made this song got killed because right now I want to shove a knife in their skull...

'And when we sing, every sweet refrain repeats, Right here on Easy Street, Let's have a moment in the sun, The magic's only just begun'

This time it was different though, when Dwight opened the door he threw my sandwich on the ground, I grabbed it then took a bite then suddenly he threw something else at me, I looked and saw it was clothes, sweats but right now I didn't care, it was something to cover up myself with.

* * *

'Oh, to a life that can't be beat'

The door unlocks then opens as I sit there lost in thought again when Dwight walked in holding my crossbow

'Right here on Easy Street, 'Cause the world is but a treat, When you're on Easy Street, 'Cause the world is but a treat, When you're on Easy Street'

He grabbed me by the shirt and stood me up then we walked out of the room

* * *

He lead me down a few hallways and I took the moment to try and memorize them so I could somehow find my way out. I see a couple guys in the hallway mopping the floor as we move past them walking to a door, "Carson." Dwight called as we walked in and I saw a man and the girl I met with Dwight in the woods

"We were just finishing up."

"Hi, D." The girl says to him

"Hey."

"Daryl, right?" She asked me

"Don't talk to him." Dwight told her and pushed me over to the table she was just on and I sat down

"It's negative." I heard her say to him

"Well, maybe next time."

"Sorry. Still getting used to being my own assistant." The doctor says and the girl walked over to me

"Whatever they say...just do it." She says to me

"I said don't talk to him." Dwight told her again

"Okay, let's take a look." The doctor said as he looked at my gunshot wound that this prick gave me, "It'll get better-if you let it. Negan will take care of you. Trust me."

* * *

We started to walk back down the hallway when Dwight pulled me down and I hear chuckling, I glanced and saw him, the fuckin prick who killed two of my friends, "Dwighty boy. I need to talk to my associate for a minute. Go about your business." I heard him say to the guys that were still mopping, "Except for you. You, stand right there." He directed to the guy that was with him, Dwight pulled me up and moved me around the corner

"Sit." He said placing me down in the chair that was in the hallway then the other guy pointed a gun at me, Rick's gun. I glanced into a room I saw across from me, then I felt someone watch me and I quick looked at Dwight who walked over and grabbed me bringing me outside

* * *

We stood by a fence and I saw walkers on some metal poles and a couple guys wearing the same sweats I was pushing a couple against the poles when I hear my crossbow shoot killing one, "You know, I'm getting the hang of this thing." He says indicating to my crossbow and I look down at the ground then he grabbed me and pushed me up against the fence, "That's you, asshole. Unless you're smart. Your choice. You could be like them...or me. Or them."

* * *

Dwight brings me back to my cell and I sit back down in the corner, "Make it easy on yourself."

"I ain't ever gonna kneel." I told him

"Yeah, I said that, too."

"Yeah, I know." I said

"See...that's the thing, man. You don't. But you're gonna." He told me then shut the door and locked it.

'We're on Easy Street , And it feels so sweet, 'Cause the world is but a treat, When you're on Easy Street, And we're breaking out the good champagne, I'm sittin' pretty on a gravy train, and when we sing, every sweet refrain repeats, Right here on...'

I'm gonna bash someone's skull in with that fuckin radio I swear to god. I stood up feeling around the door looking for weak spots then I started to try and kick it but I wasn't having any luck.

* * *

That song just keeps going and going, just then the door opens and I see someone else standing there, the guy that had Rick's gun pointed at me, he handed me my sandwich then leaves but...he didn't lock the door.

I slowly got up and grabbed the door knob slowly and quietly turning it opening the door, was it a trick? I'm not sure but I have to at least try.

I carefully moved down the hall from before looking for any signs of an exit, I came down another hall and stopped when I heard a door closing, I peaked around the corner seeing someone standing there then I heard foot steps coming from the hall behind me so I quickly ran down the other way

* * *

I went down another hall and peaked around the corner seeing a few people walk down another one, this place was a damn maze. I was to focused on waiting for the right moment that I didn't even hear someone walk up behind me, I turned and saw that brunette girl standing there, "Go back while you can. You know I did. Whatever he's done to you, there's more. There's always more. You won't get away. And when you're back, it'll be worse." She warned me. I looked at her then back around the corner seeing it was clear and I moved on. I reached a door that lead outside, I looked out the window and saw a bunch of bikes sitting there. Taking my moment I opened the door and ran over to them looking for keys but suddenly a door opens in front of me and a couple guys walk out, I turned to run the other way but the door I came out of opened up and some more guys came out and they surrounded me then I hear whistling as Negan walked over.

"Are we pissing our pants yet?" He asks walking into the middle of the circle, "Who are you?" He asked pointing his bat at the guy who had Rick's gun

"Negan."

"Who are you?" He pointed to another

"Negan."

"Who are you?" He asked all of them

"Negan."

"You see that? I am everywhere. And this was your shot to prove to me that that fundamental fact was sinking in, and you failed. Which sucks, because your life was about to get so much cooler. Am I right?"

"Damn right." The one guy says

"Now, Dwight gave you some options. I don't think you get it yet. So I'm gonna break it down for you. You get three choices. One, you wind up on the spike and you work for me as a dead man. Two, you get out of your cell, you work for points, but you're gonna wish you were dead. Or three, you work for me, you get yourself a brand-new pair of shoes, and you live like a king! Choice seems pretty obvious. You should know, there is no door number four. This is it. This is the only way." He chuckled, "Screw it." He says and he lifted his bat swinging it at me but stopped right in front of me, I didn't even flinch, "Wow! You don't scare easy. I love that. But Lucille...Well, it kind of pisses her off. She finds it to be disrespectful. Lucky for you, she's not feeling too thirsty today. But I am. So...I'm gonna go get me a drink!" He chuckled and walked away whistling I looked at the men around me and swung my fist up punching one of them, a couple of them grabbed me as I tried to fight them but they brought me to the ground and started to beat me.

* * *

"Daryl?" I hear the girl say outside my cell as I sat there in pain, "There's so many things I wish I never found out...I wish I didn't try...Back in the woods...after I lost Tina...when we took your stuff, when we decided to go back...I told you I was sorry. And you said, "You're gonna be." I am." She tells me then I hear her walk away

* * *

'Let's have a moment in the sun..'

The music shuts off and the door opens, Dwight stands there handing me a sandwich but I didn't take it so he tossed it on the floor, "Eat." He told me and I grabbed the sandwich, "You got your friend killed." He says hitting a sore spot, "I got Tina killed. And don't pretend like you don't know the score." He told me and I grabbed the sandwich throwing it at him, "You should be dead. But Negan's taken a shine to you. You're lucky. Don't forget." He reached over me and taped something to the wall, "Bon appetit." I grabbed it putting it on the floor then picked it up and looked at it. I leaned my head against the wall. It was a picture of Glenn.

'I was all right, For a while, I could smile for a while, But I saw you last night, You held my hand so tight, As you stopped to say hello, Oh, you wished me well, You couldn't tell.' He plays a different song, 'That I'd been crying over you, Crying over you, When you said, "So long", Left me standing all alone, Alone and crying'

I couldn't help it, I cried, it was my fault, my fault that Maggie lost him, their baby lost its dad, it was all my fault, my fault that Denise was killed, my fault that Phoebe was now back at home without me. It was all my fault.

'Crying, Crying, Crying, It's hard to understand, But the touch of your hand, Can start me crying, I thought that I, Was over you, But it's true, so true'

* * *

"Step in." Dwight tells me leading me into a room with a bed and I see Negan standing there

"Ahh. Jesus. You...look awful. Don't you worry. We'll have Carson fix you all up. You thirsty? Here." HE handed me a glass of water, "Ah, hell, I forgot. Your mouth is all... puffed up like a baboon's ass. Need a straw? D, give him a straw. What's wrong with you? See that guy? He hustles. I like hustle. But believe it or not, things weren't always cool between us. See, D here - he worked for points, him and his super hot wife and her super hot sister. But, see, sis - she needed meds. And that shit is hard to scavenge, so it cost more. Sis fell behind on points, so I asked her to marry me. Told her I would take care of her in sickness and in health, blah blah blah, because I am a stand-up guy. She tells me that she's gonna think about it. Next thing you know, I'm dealing with an orange situation. Dwighty boy here stole all the medication and took off with his super hot wife and my super hot maybe soon-to-be fiancée. So I had to send my guys after him. Because I can't let something like that stand. There...are...rules. Cost me an arm and a leg going after him. And you know what-Dwighty boy?" He chuckled, "He still got away. But here's the thing. D-he saw the light. He manned up. He came back. He asked for my forgiveness. I like that. Made me... take notice. But Lucille... Well...you know how she is. She is a stickler for the rules. So, Dwight...he begged me not to kill Sherry, which I thought was kind of cute, so I was just gonna kill him. But then Sherry says that she will marry me if I let Dwight live, which, if you think about it, that's a pretty screwed-up deal, 'cause I was gonna marry her sister until she wound up dead, but... Sherry is super hot. Anyways, it was a start. But it wasn't enough. So Dwight... he got the iron. And then I married his super hot wife. Ex-wife. And then after all that, he still got on board. And now look at him. Pow! One of my top guys. And we are totally cool. The point being, I think you can be that guy. I think you are ready to be that guy. You look around here. This?" He indicated to the room, "And this can be yours again too" He tells me holding up my wedding ring, "Now I first thought maybe you lost her before this world went to shit and still held onto it which I get, but then when I had your people on their knees, and the girl that yelled your name when you hit me, well, it all clicked. She..is..smokin hot" He tells me and I clench my fist, no one talks about my girl like that, "Now I almost want to offer her the chance to stay here but how is that anyway to gain your loyalty?" He asked, if he ever touches her, "Well...anyways, it can all be yours. All you got to do is answer one simple question. Who are you?" He asked me and I kept quiet, "What, does the cat got your tongue? You're just overwhelmed by the awesomeness of this? I'm gonna ask you one more time. Who are you?" He asked again and I looked at him

"Daryl."

"This is the only-" Dwight started to say

"Hey. Sst, sst, sst. It's cool, D. He made his choice. Ain't my problem if he made a dumb ass choice." He said

* * *

"You're gonna wind up in that room or hanging on the fence!" Dwight yells at me putting me back in my cell and started to walk away

"I get why you did it. Why you took it. You were thinking about someone else. That's why I can't." He shut the door and I sit there. I can't do it, I have to stay strong for Phoebe, for our baby, for the rest of my family. They all need me, and no matter what I will get out of here. I just need to wait for the right moment, then I can be with her again.


	24. Chapter 24

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

 **Phoebe POV...**

Days, that's how long I laid in bed, the scent from Daryl's pillow was going away and I would just lay there, crying, sleeping. Rick, Michonne, Eric, Aaron, Carl and Sasha would all come check on me, bring me food, water and try to talk to me but I kept quiet as they sat there.

I couldn't get it out of my head, I've killed people, but to watch 2 people I love and care about get killed right in front of me...it hurt. Then seeing Daryl get taken away, not knowing what they were doing to him, it hurt even more, my heart ached everyday and I kept thinking about him, our memories together, especially the day I found out I was pregnant with our baby.

 _"Hey," Daryl says to me walking into the bathroom as I stood there with my back to him, "Pheebs? What is it?" He asked and I faced him holding the test, he looked at it then me, "Phoebe?"_

 _"I'm pregnant" I breathed out and he walked over looking at the test_

 _"But...I thought...you haven't even started taking your pills yet, how.."_

 _"I don't know, I mean, it should have shown up when Pete did that ultrasound but...I don't know." I told him and he wrapped me up in a hug, "I'm pregnant" I whispered still in shock and he put his hands on my face then kissed me. It was a miracle, our miracle._

 _"I knew we could do it" He tells me and I smiled through my happy tears and kissed him again_

I sniffled wiping my tears away then put my hand on my stomach, "Your daddy will be back. I just know it."

* * *

I finally decided I should get out of bed and try to make it through the day, so I got dressed, made myself look decent enough and I walked down stairs. When I reached the door I took a deep breath then headed outside, I saw a few people look at me but then quickly look away as I walked down the steps heading over to Eric's place.

"Hi Mrs. Dixon" I hear Kayden say as we walked with his mom down the street, I smiled at him and continued walking.

"Hey." Eric greeted from the bottom of their steps and I gave a small smile, "Coffee? Tea?" He asked me as we walked inside

"I'm good" I replied and sat on the couch then he sat next to me

"It's good to see you out. Are you ok?"

"I'm trying to be, I just...can't...stop thinking about them...or..Daryl" I said fighting back tears while I swallowed the lump in my throat and he pulled me into a hug

"It's gonna be okay," He tells me then looked at me, "I can't imagine what your going through, if it would have been Aaron I probably...I probably would fall apart, but sweetie, you have to be strong, for your family, for Daryl, and your baby" He says and I nodded then the front door opened, we looked and saw Aaron walk in

"Their here" He says and I look at Eric then stand up and walk outside to the street seeing a few trucks at the entrance of our gates. Then I saw him and Eric wrapped his arm around my shoulder to make sure I didn't fall over, there was my husband, in sweats with a big A spray painted on it, his face looked like he was beaten and I couldn't take my eyes off him until Eric grabbed my hand and I looked at him wiping away the tear that fell out of my eye. I was happy to know he was alive, but it hurt seeing him like this.

"Hot diggity dog!" I hear Negan say and I look at him clenching my jaw, "This place is magnificent! An embarrassment of riches, as they say. Yes, sir, I do believe you are gonna have plenty to offer up." He chuckled and I saw Rick move to Daryl

"Daryl, hey -"

"No." Negan cut him off, "Nope. He's the help. You don't look at him, you don't talk to him, and I don't make you chop anything off of him." He tells him and looked at Rosita, "Same goes for everyone" He said in a sing song voice at her, "Right?" He asked and she looked away. I took one last look at Daryl then walked away.

* * *

The saviors went house to house taking things out, they went to our house and I saw them walk out with our mattress, I didn't relly even care, I could barely sleep in it without Daryl next to me. After they finished I walked over to where Eric and Aaron, they looked at me as I glanced at Daryl who was walking with Rick and Negan but keeping his distance then I looked at Negan, wanting to take that bat from Rick and kill Negan.

"You see this? This is the kind of thing that just tickles my balls. A little cooperation and everything is pleasant as punch. You see, we really are reasonable people once you get to know us." Negan says and we stop walking, "Honest." He bends down and grabbed a pop from the cooler that was sitting there, "Ohh. Man." He opened it then drank it, "Damn, I love this place!"

"Negan. Somethin' you might wanna see." One of the men tells him handing him a camera

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? I got my fingers crossed for a little freaky-deaky." He says to Rick as two Saviors carry out Eric and Aaron's mattress. Aaron looked at me and out his hand on my shoulder as I stared at Negan

 _"...know me. I've killed people. I don't even know how many by now."_ I hear Rick's voice say over the camera, it was the tap Deanna made when we arrived.

"Jee-hee-sus! Is that you, Rick, underneath all that man-bush?" Negan asked him, "Shee-ot. I would not have messed with that guy." He says and turned it off handing it to someone, "But that's not you anymore...is it? Nope. I really gotta shave this shit." He indicated to his beard, "Whatever happened to that sick girl? That seemed like a hell of a stressful night for her. The way she was carrying on, she was married to number two, right?" Negan asked and I balled my fists up then Aaron put his hand on one of mine and I crossed my arms seeing Daryl briefly look at me then looked away, it made my heart twist and I looked down, "Careful. Careful how you're lookin' at me, Rick. Widows, especially ones that look like that...they...are special. I love 'em. Right after their husbands go, they are just...empty inside. But usually not for long." He chuckled, "Ahh. Where is she? I would love to see her."

"Do you care to pay your respects?" I hear Gabriel say to him and I looked up seeing him standing there

"Ho-ly crap! You are creepy as shit, sneaking up on me, wearin' that collar with that freaky-ass smile."

"My apologies. I'm Father Gabriel."

Negan chuckled then looked at Rick, "She didn't make it?" He asked and I looked Gabriel, I noticed some dirt on his pants and I inwardly chuckled at his quick thinking

* * *

"Mrs. Dixon, who are these people?" Kayden asked walking up to me, I looked at them then bent down to him

"They are bad people, but don't worry they are not here to hurt us ok?" I asked him and he nodded, "Where's your mom?"

"She's at the house, those bad people are taking our stuff."

I put my hand on his head, "Stay by me, ok?" I ask and he once again nodded his head and I walked with him near the armory and I see Daryl carrying out an arm full of guns

"Hold up." Negan stopped Daryl and grabbed a gun from him, "Let's see if you've been taking care of my guns." He says and I saw him aim it at Daryl, for a moment my heart stopped then I see Negan look at me for some reason then shoot a window at the house and Kayden jumped, I put my hand on his shoulder , should I have him here? Probably not, but I wouldn't let anything happen to him, "Feels good. Sounds good! Oh, I do believe Lucille's gettin' a little jealous." He says handing the gun to a savior then I see another savior come out with the RPG, "Well, ho-ly smokes! Look at this! It was you guys that took out Little Timmy and the Dick Brigade? Wow, Rick. Gettin' in your last licks. Ooh, man, I'm gonna have some fun with this."

"Please, I-I don't know for -" I hear Olivia say as one of the saviors dragged her up the stairs holding her wrist

"Arat, we don't do that unless they do somethin' to deserve it." Negan told her

"Yeah, we went through the inventory. Guns in the armory, guns they had around the walls, they're short. Glock 9, a .22 Bobcat, and a Compact 9MM" _Oh shit_ I thought to myself

"Is that true?" Negan asked Rick as I grabbed Kayden's hand bringing him to my house

"Mrs. Dixon what are we doing?" He asked me and I went over to my kitchen sink opening the cupboard

"I forgot to give something to that man out there."

"The bad man?" He asked me and I grabbed my gun out from under the sink where I hid it after what happened here.

"Yeah buddy" I said and tucked it in the back of my pants then grabbed his hand and we walked out again. Some of the people gathered in the church. I saw Negan still standing by the armory, "Okay buddy stay right here. I'll be back" I told him and he nodded then I walked forward walking up to Negan

"Well..hello there beautiful. What can I do for you?" He asked with a creepy smile on his face as Daryl walked behind me to load guns in the truck.

"I umm...I forgot to...turn this back in to Olivia" I told him pulling out my gun and handing it to him even though I wanted to shoot him with it.

"Well, well, well. Would you look at that." He says then chuckled, "Now tell me. Why did you forget to do that?"

"I used to be a cop, before all this and I guess it was just force of habit keeping it with him." I told him looking him dead in the face, I've always been a good liar.

"Well shit! I would have never guessed you for a cop. I guess Daryl kind of got lucky huh?" He asked and I looked at him confused and he leaned slightly towards me, "Yeah, I know" He whispered to me then I see him look past me, "Now who is this little champ?" He asked and I whipped around to see Kayden moving over to us. I walked towards him and put my hand on his shoulder.

"My name is Kayden"

"Well hi there Kayden. Is this your mom?" He asked him indicating to me and I pulled him back a bit

"No. My mommy is at our house. Mrs. Dixon watches me when my mommy doesn't feel well."

"Isn't that sweet." He says and smiled at me making my stomach turn

"Buddy go find your mom" I told him not taking my eyes off Negan then Kayden ran towards his house

"Cute kid" Negan tells me

"He is, and if you or any of your men..."

"Whoa! Let me stop you right there, I don't take kindly to threats. Even if they are coming from a beautiful woman such as yourself," He says and I see him look at Daryl who I knew was steaming with anger right now, "I don't want to have to turn you into a widow now." He said and I looked at him then suddenly Rick walked over to us lightly grabbing my arm and pulled me away, "What you got for me, Rick?" He asked him and Rick handed him a bag with the other two guns, "Well, would you look at that? They were here after all. Funny how a little "Holy shit! Somebody's gonna die!" lights a fire under everybody's ass!" He says and Olivia whimpered, I walked over to her and put my arm around her shoulder, "So, tell me, Rick - which one of your fine folks almost cost Olivia the rest of her days?"

"It doesn't matter anymore."

"No, it matters. See, you need to get everybody on board. Everybody. Or...we just go right back to square one."

* * *

"Hell of a place you got here, Rick." Negan tells him as we walk to the gate

"Give me a second." Rick tells him and I followed where he was looking and I see Michonne duck from inside the house outside of the gates

"No."

"Please, can you just... give me a second?" Rick asked and walked away

A few minutes later he returned with Michonne who was carrying a deer, "Look at this!" Negan says

"I thought she was scavenging. She was hunting. This one never came inside. We kept it near the line." Rick tells him handing him a rifle

"Look at this. This is something to build a relationship on. Good for you, Rick. This is readin' the room and gettin' the message. I've said it before, I'm gonna say it again. You, sir...are special." Negan tells him handing the gun to one of his men

"Now that you know we can follow your rules..."

"Yes?" Negan asked

"...I'd like to ask you if Daryl can stay." Rick tells him and I look at Negan

"Not happenin'." He says then paused, "You know what? I don't know. Maybe Daryl can plead his case. Maybe Daryl can sway me. Daryl?" He asked him but Daryl stayed quiet, "Hmm..how about the Mrs's?" He asked looking at me and I tried to fight it but I looked at Daryl who lightly shook his head and I looked down staying quiet, "Well, you tried. Now what you got to do is get over that tall wall of yours and try harder out there. Earn for me. Because we're coming back soon, and when we do, you better have something interesting for us, or Lucille, she's gonna have her way. I want you to hear that again. If you don't have something interesting for us...somebody's gonna die. And no more magic guns. Arat, grab that deer. It's getting late. Let's go home." Negan told her and Michonne dropped the deer walking away and I went with her. She put her arm through mine and I leaned my head on her shoulder.

"It's gonna be ok" She whispered to me and I stopped at the bottom step of my house looking at the front door. I stood there for a good 5 minutes until I walked away heading over to Eric and Aaron's knocking on their door then Eric answered

"I don't want to be alone right now" I told him holding back tears and he pulled me to him then Aaron joined the hug as I cried into theirs shoulders.

"Stay as long as you need to" Aaron told me and I nodded my head then walked inside.

* * *

It has only been a week since the saviors came, I was basically living with Eric and Aaron for now because it was just to hard for me to be in my house without Daryl. I was walking with Kayden when I see the gates open up and the saviors pulled in, what the hell? I asked myself and looked at Kayden, "Go to your mom sweetie" I told him and he nodded then ran to his house as I see them exit the trucks, then I see Carl. I looked at him confused and he looked at me then they headed into their house.

* * *

Later on I walked down the street with Eric, I had to admit, I was not feeling great, I wanted to cry every time I woke up but having Eric and Aaron to comfort me was enough, they were good to me, opened up their home because I didn't want to be in my house. We walked over to the small crowd that was gathered by Rick's house to see Negan playing pool..with Spencer.

"I could never do this with Rick. He would just be standing there, scowling, giving me that annoying side-eye he gives me." Negan tells him as Spencer set up the pool balls

"That's actually what I came to see you about. I want to talk to you about Rick." what the hell?

"All right. Talk to me, Spencer. Talk to me about Rick." He says to him after taking a shot

"I get what you're trying to do here, what you're trying to build. I'm not saying I agree with your methods, but I get it. You're building a network. You're making people contribute for the greater good. It makes sense. But you should know that Rick Grimes has a history of not working well with others."

"Mm. Is that so?" He asked

"Rick wasn't the original leader here. My mom was. She was doing a really good job of it. Then she died, not long after Rick showed up - same with my brother, same with my dad."

"So, everything was peachy here for - what - years? And then Rick shows up, and suddenly, you're an orphan? That is the saddest story I've ever heard. Good thing for you he's not in charge anymore." Negan pointed out

"Doesn't matter. His ego's out of control. He'll find a way to screw things up, to try and do things his way, to take over. That's what he did with my mom. That's what he'll do again." Spencer tells him and I glare at him

"What exactly are you proposing be done about that?" Negan asked him

"I am my mother's son. I can be the leader she was. That's what this place needs. That's what you need."

"So I should put you in charge - that's what you're saying?" He asks

"We'd be much better off."

"You know, I'm thinking, Spencer. I'm thinking how Rick threatened to kill me, how he clearly hates my guts. But he is out there right now, gathering shit for me to make sure I don't hurt any of the fine people that live here. He is swallowing his hate and getting shit done. That takes guts. And then there's you...The guy who waited for Rick to be gone so he could sneak over and talk to me to get me to do his dirty work, so he could take Rick's place. So I got to ask - if you wanna take over, why not just kill Rick yourself and just take over?" Negan asked him

"What? No, no. I didn't - I don't -"

"You know what I'm thinking? 'Cause I have a guess. It's because you got no guts." He tells him and then stabs Spencer in the stomach slicing him open, I put my hand over my mouth and turned away feeling Eric put his hand on my shoulder, "Ohh! Ohh. How embarrassing. There they are. They were inside you the whole time. You did have guts. I've never been so wrong in my whole life!" He says and I turned back to face him, "Now, someone oughta get up here and clean this mess up. Oh. Anyone want to finish the game? C'mon. Anybody? Anybody? C'mon. I was winning!" He says and sudden;y I see Rosita hold up a gun and shoot at him, but she missed and hit the bat, "Shit! What the shit?!" He yells and I see Rosita get tackled to the ground by Arat, "Shit! You just - You tried to kill me?! You shot Lucille!"

"She got in the way." She told him and he picked up the cell casing

"What is this? What is this? This little bad boy made from scratch? Look at those crimps. This was homemade. You may be stupid, darlin', but you showed some real ingenuity here. Arat, move that knife up out on that girl's face." He told her and she held the knife to Rosita's cheek, "Lucille's beautiful, smooth surface is never gonna look the same, so why should yours?! Unless... Unless you tell me who made this."

"It was me. I made it." Rosita told him

"You see, now I just think you're lying. And you lying to me now?! Such a shame. Arat's gonna have to cut up that pretty face. One more try."

"It was me." Rosita says again lifting her head up causing the knife to cut her

"Oh! You are such a badass! Fine. Have it your way. Arat... Kill somebody." He told her

"No. It was me! No!" Rosita screamed but Arat aimed her gun and killed Olivia, then I see Rick walk over with a beaten up Aaron, both me and Eric rushed over to him and I checked his face

"We had an agreement." Rick says to Negan walking over to him

"Rick!" Negan yelled, "Look, everybody, it's Rick. Ah, your people are making me lose my voice doin' all this yelling. Rick... how about a "thank you"? I mean, look, I know we started this relationship with me beating the holy shit out of your friends, and because of that, we're never gonna sit around and braid each other's hair or share our deepest, darkest secrets, but how about a little credit? I just bent over backwards to show you how reasonable I am. Your kid - he hid in one of my trucks and machine-gunned a bunch of my men down, and I brought him home, safe and sound, and I fed him spaghetti." He tells Rick and I looked at Carl the same time Rick did, "Another one of your people - well, he wanted me to kill you and put him in charge. I took him out...for you. And another one, here - she shot Lucille, trying to kill me just now, so I gave you one less mouth to feed. And by looking at her - that mouth did some major damage. Now, personally, I wouldn't have picked her to be the one to go, but Arat- I don't know - didn't trust her."

"Your shit's waiting for you at the gate. Just go." Rick told him

"Sure thing, Rick... right after I find the guy or gal that made this bullet." He says but no one answered, "Arat?" He says and she pointed the gun at Aaron and Eric but I moved in front of them

"Phoebe" Eric whispered to me but I stared at Arat

"It was me!" Tara says

"No, it wasn't." Eugene spoke up crying, "It was me. It was only me."

"You?" Negan asked him

"It required one spent casing, one four-holed turret re loader, powder, one funnel for the powder-"

"Shut up. I believe you." Negan tells him then held the bat up, "Lucille, give me strength." He sighed, "I'm gonna be relieving you of your bullet maker, Rick - that and whatever you left for me at the front gate. And however much you scavenged, it's not good enough, because you're still in a serious, serious hole after today. Let's move out!" Negan tells his people and a couple guys grabbed Eugene, I went to move but Aaron held me back

"No! No, no! Please, just take me!" Rosita cried, "No!"

"Rick, I ain't gonna lie - your kitchen is a goddamn mess." Negan chuckled and they all walked away, "I'll see you next time."

I moved over to Rosita who was crying on the ground, at first she pushed my hands away but I went to comfort her again and she cried as I rubbed her back, "Come on, we need to take care of that cut." I tell her and she sat there then got up and I brought ehr to the infirmary.

* * *

That night I finished cleaning up Aaron's face when there was a knock at the door, I saw Eric answer it and I saw Rick standing there, "Hey Rick"

"Hi" He walked in and looked at me, "Can I talk to you?" He asked me and I looked at Eric and Aaron who nodded and walked out of the room, "We're going to the Hilltop."

I looked at him in shock, "Why?"

"Because we need people, to fight. And to get Daryl back" He said I gave a happy chuckle holding back tears and he hugged me.

"Thank you"

* * *

"Sasha! Enid!" I hear Maggie yell from the guard post as we reached the gates of the Hilltop and they opened with Maggie standing there. Rick walked up and hugged her

"You're okay?" He asked her

" I'm okay. The baby's okay - all of us."

"You were right... right from the start. You told us to get ready to fight. I didn't listen, and I couldn't. I can now." He told her and then looked over to his right, I followed his gaze and my heart stopped, Daryl was standing there. I didn't even hesitate, I ran over to him and he wrapped his arms around me and I cried into his shoulder not wanting to let go. He put his hands on my face and I smiled through my tears as he kissed me, then Rick walked over and I moved over a bit. Daryl nodded at Rick then hugged him too, I wiped my tears away even though they kept coming and I see Daryl reach into his back pocket and handed Rick his gun. I felt someone nudge me and I look at Jesus, he held up my gun to me and I smiled silently thanking him then Daryl hugged Michonne then Tara, then pulled me to him again as I wrapped my arms around his neck. Rick looked at all of us and we made our way to the house.


	25. Chapter 25

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

"No! No way in hell. That was not the deal." Gregory tells Rick, "You people swore you could take the Saviors out, and you failed. So any arrangement we had is now done - null and void. We aren't trade partners, we aren't friends, and we never met. Hmm? We don't know each other. I owe you nothing. In fact, you owe me for taking in the refugees, at great personal risk."

"Oh, you were very brave staying in here while Maggie and Sasha saved this place. Your courage was inspiring." Jesus tells him

"Hey, don't you work for me? Aren't we friends?"

"Gregory, we already started this." Rick points out to him

"You started it."

"We did. And we're gonna win." Rick says

"These are killers."

"Is this how you want to live? Under their thumb, killing your people?" Rick asked

"S-Sometimes we don't get to choose what our life looks like. Sometimes, Ricky, you have to count the blessings you have."

"How many people can we spare? How many people here can fight?" Maggie asked him

""We"?" He scoffed, "I don't even know how many people we have, Margaret. And does it even matter? I mean...w-w-what are you gonna do? Start a platoon of sorghum farmers? 'Cause that's what we got. They grow things. They're not gonna want to fight."

"You're wrong. When people have the chance to do the right thing, they usually step up. I mean, people just -" Tara started to say

"L-Let me stop you before you break into song, okay?" Gregory said cutting Tara off, "And, by the way, who would train all this cannon fodder?"

"I will."

"Give me a week." Rosita and Sasha spoke at the same time

"Rhetorical, okay?" Gregory sang and I rolled my eyes, "I don't want to know. I never want to hear another word about any of it, ever."

"Would we be better off without the Saviors, yes or no?" Rick asked him and I could sense the anger in his voice

"Yeah. Sure. Okay."

"So, what will you do to fix the problem?" Michonne asked

"I didn't say we had a problem. You did. And what happens outside of my purview is outside of my purview."

"What the hell, man? You're either with us or you ain't. You're sitting over there talking out of both sides of your mouth." Daryl tells him from next to me and I put my hand on his arm

"I - I think I've made my position very clear. And I want to thank all of you for not being here today and not having this meeting with me or - or being seen on your way out. In other words, go out the back." He tells us and we all walked out

"Walking ballsack." Rosita said as we exited

"Wanna knock that idiot's teeth out." Sasha adds

"Yeah, well, we don't need him anyway." Daryl says

"Yeah, that's right. 'Cause we have Maggie, Sasha and Jesus here." Rick points out and I look at him

"And..Enid" Maggie adds as Enid walked in

"Hey, um -"

"What's wrong?" Sasha asked her

"Nothing. Just...come outside." She said and we walked out seeing a group of people standing there

"What's going on?" Maggie asked them

"Hey. So, if you don't remember, I'm Bertie. And I owe my life to you all, twice over. A bunch of us do. Enid says that you want Gregory to get us to fight the Saviors with you. Is that true?" She asked

"Yes."

"Do you think we can win, that we really could beat them? Us?" Bertie asked her

"I do."

"Well, Enid says you could show us the way. I'm ready." She said and the rest of them agreed.

* * *

"It's a start." Michonne says as we walk towards the gate

"We'll get more. It still won't be enough." Sasha adds

"No, it won't." Rosita agreed

"Well, we find the right stuff, then maybe we don't need the numbers. Blow 'em up, burn 'em to the ground." Daryl points out

"You said there weren't just soldiers with the Saviors, that there were workers there. People didn't have a choice." Tara says to Daryl

"We gotta win."

"We need more hands, another group. Negan has outposts. The geography, the distance works against us. We gotta get back. If they come looking for Daryl, we need to be there." Rick points out and I looked at Daryl

"You don't have to get back. Not yet." Jesus tells them and they stop, I see him pull out a walkie holding it up, "It's one of theirs, long range. We can listen in, keep track of them."

"So, if we're not going back, what are we doing, then?" Michone asked

"I think it's time we introduced you to Ezekiel. King Ezekiel." Jesus tells us

"King?" Rick asked

* * *

"It's called "the Kingdom"?" Rick asked Jesus as they got out the vehicle

"Yeah. I didn't name it."

Daryl opens the door standing up in the car, "Hey, what the hell we waitin' on?"

"Waiting for them." Jesus tells him and we see a couple people ride over on horses

"Who dares to trespass on the sovereign land of the-" One of the guys started to say but looked at Jesus, "Oh, shit, Jesus, is that you?"

"Who are all these people, Paul?" the other one asked him

"Hi, Richard. Nice to see you."

"It's good to see you, too." He said "Your friends, who are they?" He asked again

"This is Rick Grimes. He's the leader of a like-minded community. These are some of his people. We would like to request an audience with King Ezekiel."

"Get out of the car." Richard tells us after getting off his horse walking over to Rick and Jesus as we all got out but Daryl kept me behind him, "You say they're a... like-minded community. Like-minded how?"

"We live, we trade, we fight the dead. Sometimes others." Jesus tells him

"Line up."

"Okay. This is a waste of time. Come on. Let's go." Daryl says grabbing my hand

"Maybe you're right. The King is a busy man. And it's a dangerous world. We don't usually allow a pack of strangers to waltz through our door." Richard tells them

"We want to make the world less dangerous, and we are all here to show the King how serious we are about that." Michonne says to him

"The car stays outside. You gotta hand over your guns."

"We only have three." Rick says looking at me and Carl, I reached behind me pulling mine out and handed it to Richard after Rick and Carl did.

"Okay. Follow me." Richard tells us and we start walking with Daryl holding my hand, I still couldn't get over it, he was here, he was with me again. I feel like I needed to be pinched

* * *

"They have the numbers." Michonne says as we look at the residents

"But can they fight?" Rosita asked

"Oh, they can fight." Jesus answered

"Morgan?" I hear Tara ask and I turn around seeing him walk over

"Hey." He said hugging her then Sasha, "Hi."

"How do you know each other?" Richard asked

"We go back to the start." Rick tells him

"Well, the King is ready to see you." Richard informed us, the others walk in but me, Daryl and Rick stayed back for a bit.

"Did you find Carol?" Rick asked Morgan

"I did, yeah."

"Where is she? Is she okay?" I asked him and he put his hand on my shoulder

"She was here, and then she left." He said and I looked at him confused, "You know, she wasn't too happy, me following her. She wanted to get away from us, from everyone. But when I found her, she was shot."

"Oh god" I whispered and Daryl put his hand on my shoulder

"It was just a graze. I got her back here. They got doctors. They're good."

"Was it them?" I asked

"It was. She had crossed with some of them, and one of them followed her, tried to kill her, but I stopped him. I killed him. I had to. Carol was here. She got help. Now she's gone."

"What?" I asked in disbelief and Daryl pulled me to him and we walked inside

"Jesus! It pleases me to see you, old friend." Ezekiel greeted as we stand by the door

"It pleases him, indeed!" Jerry repeats

"Jerry." Ezekiel said and looked at us, "Tell me, what news do you bring good King Ezekiel? Are these new allies you've brought me?"

"Indeed, they are, Your Majesty. This is..." Jesus tells him and he faced us as we stare in shock at the tiger next to the man, "Oh, right. I forgot to mention that-"

"Yeah, a tiger." Rick says and the tiger roars

"This is Rick Grimes, the leader of Alexandria, and these are some of his people." Jesus finished as we walked forward

"I welcome you all to the Kingdom, good travelers. Now, what brings you to our fair land? Why do you seek an audience with the King?" Ezekiel asked

"Ezekiel - King...Ezekiel. Alexandria, the Hilltop, and the Kingdom-all three of our communities have something in common. We all serve the Saviors. Alexandria already fought them once, and we won. We thought we took out the threat, but we didn't know then what we know now. We only beat one outpost. We've been told you have a deal with them, that you know them. Then you know they rule through violence and fear." Rick says to him

"Your Majesty, I only told them of the-"

"Our deal with the Saviors is not known among my people-for good cause." Ezekiel says cutting Jesus off, "We made you a party to that secret when you told us of the Hilltop's own travails, but we did not expect you to share-"

"We can help each other." Jesus cut Ezekiel off

"Don't interrupt the King." Jerry tells him

"We brought you into our confidence. Why did you break it?" Ezekiel asked

"Because we want you to hear Rick's plans." Jesus told him

"And what plans have you, Rick Grimes of Alexandria?" He asked Rick

"We came to ask the Kingdom, to ask you, to join us in fighting the Saviors, fighting for freedom for all of us."

"What you are asking is very serious." Ezekiel tells him

"Several of our people-good people-were killed by the Saviors, brutally." Michonne told walking up next to Rick

"Who?" Morgan asked

"Abraham. Glenn. Spencer, Olivia. Eugene was taken." Rosita tells him and I put my head down

"They took Daryl. He escaped. Every second he's out here, he's a target." I added and Daryl put his hand on my back, I'll be damned if they take him again

"You gonna say you were right?" Rosita asked him

"No. I'm... I'm just real sorry they're gone."

"Negan murdered Glenn and Abraham, beat them to death." Rick says

"Terrorized the Hilltop, set loose walkers just to make a point. I used to think the deal was something we could live with. A lot of us did. But that's changing. So let's change the world, Your Majesty." Jesus says to Ezekiel

"I want to be honest about what we're asking. My people are strong, but there's not enough of us. We don't have guns - not enough, at least. Not a lot of weapons, period." Rick mentioned

"We have people. And weapons. If we strike first, together, we can beat them. Your Majesty, no more waiting for things to get worse beyond what we can handle. We set things right. The time is now." Richard says to him

"Morgan, what say you?" Ezekiel asked him

"Me?"

"Speak." He tells him

"People will die. A lot of people, and not just the Saviors. It...If we can find another way, we have to. Maybe it's just about Negan-just capturing him, holding him. Maybe...I -"

"The hour grows late." Ezekiel said standing up and Shiva growled, "Rick Grimes of Alexandria... you have given the King much to ponder."

"Well, when I was a kid, uh, my mother told me a story. There was a road to a kingdom, and there was a rock in the road. And people would just avoid it, but horses would break their legs on it and die, wagon wheels would come off. People would lose the goods they'd be coming to sell. That's what happened to a little girl. The cask of beer her family brewed fell right off. It broke. Dirt soaked it all up, and it was gone. That was her family's last chance. They were hungry. They didn't have any money. She just...sat there and cried, but...she wondered why it was still there...for it to hurt someone else. So she dug at that rock in the road with her hands till they bled, used everything she had to pull it out. It took hours. And then...when she was gonna fill it up, she saw something in it. It was a bag of gold. The king had put that rock in the road because he knew the person who dug it out, who did something, they deserved a reward. They deserved to have their life changed for the good...forever."

"I invite you all to sup with us and stay till the morrow." Ezekiel tells us

"Yeah, we need to get back home." Rick says to him

"I shall deliver my decree in the morn."

* * *

"Please tell me I'm not dreaming" I told Daryl as we laid in the bed of the room we got set up in for the night

He lifted my face up to look at him, "I'm here, I'm not going anywhere without you again, I promise."

"Good, because I can't go through it again Daryl, please don't make me" I said with my voice breaking and he pulled me to him

"I won't, not ever" He says and I kissed him then we just laid there and held each other, "Is the baby okay?" He asked putting his hand on my stomach

"Yeah," I answered putting my hand on his and I felt a flutter where the baby is at, "And he or she knows you're here." I told him and he looked at me confused, "Small little flutter. It's a pregnancy thing" I said with a smile

"I told you I would come back" He says to my stomach and kissed it, I chuckled at him as he moved back up, "I love you" He told me

"I love you too, and I don't care how much you argue about it I am not leaving your side again. Ever"

"You're right, I don't but I'm keeping you with me at all times. Just like I did when I was...there" he says and I put my hand on his face

"We don't have to talk about, at least until you're ready" I told him and he nodded his head

"Why were you there that night?" He asked me

"Maggie was having pains, bad ones, we were trying to get her to the Hilltop. I know what you're gonna say but...I had to help Daryl, she's family, I just..."

"Hey, I get it, but Pheebs I could have lost you." He said

"But you didn't, I'm right here. Always"

He kissed me again and I snuggled into his chest and eventually fell asleep.

* * *

"This is life here. Every day." Ezekiel tells us as Richard walked us over to where he was, "But it came at a cost. And I wanted more of this. I wanted to expand. To create more places like this. Men and women lost their limbs. Children lost their parents because I sent them into battle against the wasted when I did not need to."

"This is different." Rick tells him

"It isn't."

"It is. The dead don't rule us. The world doesn't look like this outside your walls. People don't have it as good. Some people don't have it good at all." Rick says

"I have to worry about my people."

"You call yourself a damn king. You sure as hell don't act like one." Daryl said

"Daryl" I whispered to him and he looked at me then back at Ezekiel

"All of this... came at a cost. It was lives, arms, legs. The peace we have with the Saviors is uneasy, but it is peace. I have to hold on to it. I have to try. Although the Kingdom cannot grant you the aid you desire, the King is sympathetic to your plight. I offer our friend Daryl asylum for as long as he requires it, his wife as well." Ezekiel tells us and I look at Daryl who shifted next to me, "They will be safe here. The Saviors do not set foot inside our walls."

"How long do you think that's gonna last?" Daryl asked him and he walked away

"Daryl." I said following him with the others shortly after

"All right, open it up. We're gone." Daryl tells the man at the gate when we arrive and it opens

"You're not." Rick says to him as the others but me and him walk out

"I'm not staying here."

"You have to. It's the smartest play. You know it is." Rick told him

"I agree with Rick on this one Daryl, if they come to either the Hilltop or Alexandria who knows who they will kill, I told you last night, don't let me go through it again" I said and he pulled me into a hug, "I'm staying too" I told Rick

"Try to talk to Ezekiel. Or stare him into submission - Whatever it takes. We'll be back soon." Rick tells him then gives me a hug and walks away then the gates closed. I looked at Daryl who pulled me to him and kissed my head.

"I wanna find my mom" I told him and he looked at me then nodded

* * *

It has been a couple days since we've been here and I could tell Daryl hated it but I tried to tell him it was a good thing. One morning we got up and walked out of the place we were staying in when we saw Morgan and a young man standing there talking, Hey. Where'd you go in them trucks?" Daryl asked as we walked down the stairs and I see Morgan say something to the other person and walked to us, "You went to see them, right?" Daryl asked him

"Yeah."

"Part of your deal?" I asked Morgan and he looked away then back at us

"What the hell's wrong with you? You're bleeding." Daryl indicated to Morgan's face, "They did that to you. You know what they are."

"I do."

"You know, if my mom were here, she saw all that... if she knew about Abraham... and Glenn... she'd be leading us right to them, ready to kill them all." I told Morgan

"She would. And that's why she left." He says and I looked at him then scoffed walking away and Daryl followed.

* * *

Me and Daryl walked over to Richard seeing him shoot an arrow into a target, "I'm practicing. Gonna have to start using these more. The Saviors are smart enough to know I shouldn't have a gun around them." He shoots again, "Morgan said you're a bowman." He tells Daryl holding something up for him, Daryl looked at him then me then back at Richard

"Why?" Daryl asked him taking it from him

"'Cause we want the same things. I need your help." Richard says and Daryl looked at the crossbow Richard handed him lifting it up to his face, it may not be his but it was nice to see him hold one again, it's who he is. Daryl put it down and looked at me, I gave him a smile

* * *

Me, Richard and Daryl made our way through the woods and Richard knocked a sign over and we followed him to a camper. He went inside first then me then Daryl who shut the door behind us. I saw him pull out a couple rifles and handed one to me, I looked at Daryl who reluctantly nodded his head and I grabbed the rifle as Richard handed Daryl one.

After that we made our way down a road seeing a broken down semi, as we walked Daryl kept looking at me then we moved behind the semi, "They ride this road. If we see cars, it's the Saviors. They've been coming in packs of two or three lately. That's why I need you. I can't take them alone. We're gonna hit them with the guns first...and then the Molotovs. Then back to the guns until they're dead." Richard told us

"Why the fire?" I asked him

"Needs to look bad. The Saviors who discover what's left...we want them to be angry. I left a trail from here to the weapons cache I planted, to the cabin of that someone Ezekiel cares about."

"Who's that?" I asked

"It's just some loner he met. Sometimes he brings food."

"Why don't they live in the Kingdom?" Daryl asked him

"I don't know. She lives out there, she'll die out there." Richard said and I moved to him

"It's a woman?" I asked and Daryl looked at me

"What does that matter? She's got more balls than you and me." He indicated to Daryl, "She's gonna die either way. When the Saviors come and find their buddies dead, if they know their elbow from their asshole and can follow an obvious spoor, they're gonna go to the weapons cache and then to the cabin, and they're gonna attack this woman."

"What's her name?" I asked him

"Maybe they kill her, maybe they don't, but it's gonna show Ezekiel what he needs to do."

"Her name. What is it?" I asked again

"She's tough. Maybe she'll live." Richard ignored me again and I shoved him against the semi

"Say her damn name!" I yelled at him and Daryl pulled me back

"Carol." Richard says and my heart sinks then I look at Daryl, "I hoped you didn't know her, but I didn't think you'd care, 'cause you know what needs to happen."

"No." I tell him then moved to grab my stuff with Daryl doing the same

"Maybe she'll live. Look, this - this is how - this is how this could happen. This is how we can get rid of the Saviors, how we all can have a future. She's living out there on her own, just waiting to die."

"No!" I said to him again

"If we don't do anything, a hell of a lot more people are gonna die, people who want to live!"

"You stay the hell away from my mom, you hear me?" I warned him and he looked at me then we hear vehicles approach

"It's them. Look, we can wait for things to go bad, we lose people... or we can do the hard thing... and choose our fate for ourselves."

"No." Daryl told him

"Sorry." Richard says and turned around aiming his gun at the road then Daryl moved up behind him grabbing him and threw him to the ground. I heard the vehicles getting closer so I moved to lean against the semi as Daryl had Richard pinned to the ground then started punching him again and again, I see Richard reach for a canteen and hit Daryl across the face with it, I went to move to him but he held his hand up the grabbed his crossbow as Richard grabbed his gun and they aimed their weapons at each other then I raised my rifle aiming it at Richard as well.

"There'll be more. Or those - they're gonna ride back this way later. We'll have another chance. But we're running out of time. If you and your people want to move against the Saviors... you need to do it soon, and you need the Kingdom. What we have to do requires sacrifice one way or another. Guys like us... we've already lost so much." Richard says to Daryl

"You don't know me. I still have someone to keep me going" Daryl told him and Richard looked at me

"I know...that Carol, living on her own like that... she might as well be dead right now."

"She gets hurt, she dies, if she catches a fever, if she's taken out by a walker... if she gets hit by lightning - anything - anything happens to her, I'll kill you." Daryl told him lower the crossbow

Richard lowered his rifle then I did, "I would die for the Kingdom."

"Why don't you?" I asked him then me and Daryl grabbed our stuff and walked away

* * *

We got to a house and see a couple of the kingdom's people walking away as I see my mom walk back into the house, Me and Daryl shared a look then headed over to it standing on the porch, I lifted my hand up and hesitated then knocked. We waited a few moments then the door opened and I saw my mom standing there, she looked at both of us in shock then pulled me into a hug then Daryl wrapped his arms around both of us.

"Jesus took us to the Kingdom. Morgan said you just left." Daryl told her, "We were out here. We saw you."

"Why'd you go?" I asked her holding back tears and she put her hand on my face

"I had to"

* * *

"I couldn't lose anyone. I couldn't lose any of them. I couldn't lose you." She says to me as we sit in front of the fire place while Daryl sits at the table, "I couldn't kill them. I could. I would. If they hurt any of our people - any more of them - that's what I would do." She says and I looked at Daryl, "And there wouldn't be anything let of me after that. The Saviors - did they come?" She asked us

"Yeah." Daryl says

"Did anyone get hurt? Is everybody okay?" She asked with her voice breaking, "Did the Saviors...Is everybody back home okay?" She asked and Daryl looked at me, "Daryl..Phoebe"

"They came. We got them all. Made a deal with the rest of them, like Ezekiel." He lied and she sobbed pulling me into a hug, "Everyone's all right. Everyone's all right." She pulled away and I gave her a fake smile but it looked genuine. I don't want her to lose herself, not now, not ever, "We gonna eat or - or I got to be a king or something to get food around here?" Daryl asked and we chuckled I got up and walked over to him smacking his arm then kissed him

"Shut up." I tell him and he kissed me again as my mom chuckled bringing the pot over and I sat down next to Daryl

"Ezekiel... is he okay?" Daryl asked her as he handed me a bowl full of soup

"Yeah, I think he is." She says and we eat, "Is the baby okay?" She asked me and I smiled at her

"Everything is good." I tell her and she grabbed my hand

* * *

"Watch out for yourself, all right?" Daryl asked her as we walked out of the house and he hugged her. After he pulled away I hugged her as well trying not to cry

"I don't want to leave" I tell her and she looked at me putting her hands on my face wiping away a tear that fell

"I know sweetie, but I have to do this. For myself." She says and I nodded then gave her another quick hug and we left.

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

After we got back to the kingdom Phoebe went to bed and I sat in the area the tiger was at and i sat outside her cage, she growled a little but walked over to me, "Well, you're good with her." I hear Morgan say, "Ezekiel will be impressed."

"Well, figure any guy that has a pet tiger can't be that bad. He's okay by Carol. Yeah, we found her, out in that little house."

"Look, what I said... when I said she just... went away... it's what she told me to do." He told me

"No, I get it. We need the Kingdom. You got to make that happen."

"I'm sorry. I mean, I - I really am, but, uh... it can't be me." He says and I stand up

"Look, whatever it is you're holding on to... it's already gone, man. Wake the hell up."

"You're the same as me, Daryl." He said to me

"You don't know shit about me."

"No, I do. 'Cause you or Phoebe didn't tell Carol what happened. You didn't, 'cause she'd be here otherwise. And I'm glad for that. See, we're all holding on to something." He says and I reached down and pet Shiva

"Me and Phoebe are going back to the Hilltop in the morning and getting ready." I told him walking out the door.

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

Me and Daryl got our stuff gathered up and headed to the front gate, one of the guards handed me my gun as the doors open then me and Daryl walked through taking one more look at Morgan then continued on.


	26. Chapter 26

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

Since we left the Kingdom, Daryl would make us stop every 3 miles to rest even though I told him I was fine, "You know if you keep making me rest we'll get there by next week" I joked with him as he put his bag down handing me some water

"Just don't want you pushing yourself" He says

"I know sweetie, but I'm ok, I promise" I told him and took a drink of water then poured some in my hand and put it on the back of my neck then I see Daryl look at me, "What?" I asked with a smile.

"Nothin', just can't stop looking at you" He said and I walked over to him

"And why is that Mr. Dixon?" I asked and he pulled me against him

"Because I have a beautiful, strong, amazing, sexy wife who I would do anything for"

I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him, "And I have a husband who is all those things too"

"You think I'm beautiful?" He asked me putting his hands on my hips and I giggled

"Mmm more like handsome, strong, hot as hell," I tell him and he moved his face closer to mine, "And even though we've been together for so long you still.." I got cut off when he started to kiss my neck, "...you still take my breath away" I said and closed my eyes leaning my head back but then we hear snarling and saw a few walkers coming towards us. We moved apart and he grabbed his crossbow and I got my knife. He shot one and I killed the one that was coming towards me then another one, we see more coming, to many for us to fight with it being just the two of us so we grabbed our stuff and ran. We reached a part of the woods where we saw more of them but I pointed him to a cabin and we ran to it. We looked inside seeing the coast was clear, I picked up a rock and threw it in the direction the walkers were going seeing a few wonder away and got their attention then they continued moving on.

I leaned against the door catching my breath and Daryl moved to me and lifted me up, "Daryl!" I quietly squealed as he carried me over to a table that was near us setting me down on it. He then proceeded to kiss me then trailed his lips down my neck lightly biting on it, I put my fingers in his hair and moaned when he ran his hands up my sides under my shirt squeezing my breasts then took my shirt off. I put my hands on his shirt unbuttoning it then took it off him as well. he laid me down hovering over me for a few minutes kissing me then trailed his mouth from my next to my collar bone, my breasts taking his time there then down my body while undoing my pants pulling them off me over my shoes. Then I was taken by surprise when he kissed the inside of my thighs while tracing circles with his finger over my center, "Why do you have to tease me?" I asked him hearing him chuckle

"Cause it's fun" He says and lightly bit the inside of my thigh causing me to moan then next thing I knew he moved his mouth to my center and started to attack it then pushed a couple fingers inside me

"Oh god Daryl" I moaned as he continued and I tightened the grip in his hair biting my lip so I didn't scream but then he put another finger in and I quietly screamed as he moved them in and out. I bucked my hips against him as an orgasm hit and I moved my one hand fro his hair and put it over my mouth moaning. He stood up and undid his pants pushing them down and I looked at him, I meant what I said to him, I do have a sexy as hell husband. He leaned down and kissed me then pulled my hips towards me then pushed into him and I moaned into his mouth then he straightened up while continuing to pound into me and I reached my hands above me gripping the table while looking at him.

"Oh Pheebs" He moaned and I wrapped my legs around him, and he ran his hands up my body and squeezed my breast again picking up the pace

"Oh Daryl!" I quietly moaned closing my eyes and I feel him lean down to me again and kissed my neck biting it

"Phoebe, my Phoebe. Finish for me" He growled in my ear lightly biting it and I got sent over the edge.

"Ohhh!" I moaned and he pounded into me a few more times then grunted finishing as well. We stayed there looking at each other and I kissed him, "I love you"

"I love you too, more then you know."

We got dressed, saw the walkers were gone despite what we just did then finished our journey to the Hilltop finally making it there.

* * *

Over the next few days we started training people, Sasha trained them on how to use a knife, I trained them on how to shoot, and Jesus trained them on hand to hand combat. Me and Enid both stood in the medical trailer with Maggie as Dr. Carson checked on the baby and we saw him/her on the screen, I was holding Maggie's hand and I smiled at her, the baby really was strong like it's parents, then the next day I got checked out with Daryl holding my hand, our baby was doing great too, I looked and smiled at Daryl who kissed me then back at the screen. Daryl avoided Maggie, because he still feels guilty for what happened to Glenn, I looked out the trailer when Maggie went out to the little grill they had to get more food, she walked over and set a plate down next to Daryl who didn't even look at her, I saw her walk back and stopped while wiping tears away and I sighed. He didn't need to feel guilty, it wasn't his fault.

* * *

I sat next to Daryl on a table by the trailers while he sharpened a stick to make into an arrow and I finished cleaning and assembling my gun when we hear a clanging sound

"The Saviors are coming!" the guy at the gate yelled as Enid ran over to us and I got up

"We have to get Maggie." She tells us

"Where is she?" Daryl asked and we followed Enid running up to Maggie

"We'll never make it in time." Maggie tells us and we run towards a cellar opening the door

"Just stay down there. I'll keep them away." Enid tells us as I had Maggie go in first

"They aren't the same ones who came to Alexandria." Enid says and Daryl put his hand on my back making me go down then shut the door and we walked through another set of doors that were down there walking into a pantry.

I see Maggie moving a shelf while Daryl looked out the door then she started to go in, "Daryl." He stayed there still looking out holding his knife

"Daryl" I whispered to him and he looked at me then came over to us and I moved in behind the shelf and he followed moving it back keeping me behind him as I kept my hand on my gun.

* * *

After a while the cellar door creaked open and Daryl raised his knife up when we see a savior walk in. I had my gun ready staying by Maggie ready to protect her if I had to.

The savior moved around grabbing stuff off the shelves and I saw Daryl move forward raising his gun but Maggie stopped him.

After a few moments the guy left and shut the door, we waited for a moment then Daryl moved out from the shelves looking through the cracks in the door.

"You were gonna kill that guy." Maggie told him as we walked out from behind the shelf

"He was gonna find us."

"He wasn't, and he didn't." She tells him

"He deserved to die."

"Ever since you got here, you haven't said a word to me. Would you look at me?" She asked and he just stood there, "Please? Daryl..."

He finally turned and faced her, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He says with his voice breaking

"It wasn't your fault."

He sniffled, "It was."

"No. It wasn't. You're one of the good things in this world. That's what Glenn thought. And he would know, 'cause he was one of the good things, too." She tells him and I tried to hold back my tears, "And, uh... I wanted to kill that guy, too. I wanted to string them all up and watch them die. But we have to win. Help me win." She begs him and they hug then Maggie looked at me and I hugged her too closing my eyes

"We will. For Glenn, for all of them" I told her and she tightened the hug, "I love you Maggie"

* * *

The next day me, Jesus and Daryl head to Alexandria and Tara told us about a place she found, that had people, "They-They have guns. A lot of them. I saw it."

"What?" Daryl asked her

"That group. Um, the women I met. They have an armory. They have guns."

"Why didn't you tell us before now?" Rick asked her

"I made a promise, Rick"

"Are you ready if this goes south?" He asked

"It won't."

"If it does, you don't need to feel bad." He reassured her

"I do feel bad. I will."

"Tara you don't have to." He says to her then later we head out

* * *

"On the ground now." Daryl tells 2 women who were headed to the armory, "Those hands - Put them on your head." one girl gets on her knees but the other stays put

"Please." Jesus begged and she gets down then he goes and ties her wrist while Daryl waved a rag to signal Michonne and we walk them to the other women

"Get down over there. Keep quiet." Daryl tells one woman and the 2 women sit down

"Now, we made a lot of noise. We want to wrap this up quick so you can send people to redirect anything coming this way. Tara said your forests are relatively clear, so we won't take any chances. No one needs to get hurt. This is just about what you have, what we need." Rick tells them and I see Tara coming over with a couple more people and the older lady has Tara at gun point

"Nobody's taking anything. You need to let everyone go and leave right now. Just walk away or this one dies.

"Yeah, we'll leave you alone. But we're taking your weapons with us. That's not gonna change. It's Natania, right? Put the gun down, and let's talk about what we can change." Rick pleads with her

"No. Leave right now."

"Michonne, don't!" Tara yells at her

"We just wanna be left alone." Natania says

"Yeah, we'll leave you alone. Just let go of her. Now. Or we'll kill you. None of us want that." Rick tells her

"They want us to fight The Saviors." the girl next to Tara says to the other women

"We tried that. We lost. Too much. We're not gonna lose anymore - not our guns, not our safety, not after everything we've done to get here." Natania mentioned

"We're gonna win - with your guns, with or without your help." Tara says

"Natania, put the gun down." Rick tells her

"You kill me, and you die. And my people take the guns and nothing changes.

"Maybe we should try." I hear a woman say and I look at her

"Grandma, stop. It's over. Just talk to them, okay?" The girl whispered to Natania

"It's not over! They've forgotten. You've all forgotten. Some of you actually want to fight them? After everything? We can lose our guns, but us leaving this place to fight? After everything? I have to remind you! Yes. I am gonna do this, and then I'm gonna die. But it's that important. This is your life, all of you. Remember what it looks like. Remember what they did to us! You need to see this. Open your eyes!"

"Rick! Walkers!" Michonne yells to us, the girl punches Natania and we turn to see a small heard heading towards us and I raise my gun

"Everybody up! Get the children behind us! They're coming." I told them

"First shift, join them on the line. Knives out. Dead only. Dead only!" A woman instructed and we make a line in front of them

"Everyone, shots within 10 feet of the line. That's it." Rick tells them and I cock my gun and look at Daryl who nods at me as the walkers get closer, "Now!" Rick says and we start shooting, a few of the women start stabbing them and I see a little girl get one and we finish them off.

"No. We're not fighting them with you. So take your damn guns and go." She says walking away.

* * *

After we get back to Alexandria I see Rosita as she opens the gate for us, "Hey, are you okay?" Enid asked her

"Where's Sasha?" I asked

"There's someone here." She tells us and we head to the cell and when she opens it I see Dwight sitting there, I went to move forward clenching my fists but Jesus held me back then suddenly Daryl rushed forward.

"Daryl!" I shouted but Rick stopped him

"Whoa. Whoa, whoa! Slow down. Come on."

"He says he wants to help us." Rosita tells us

"That true? You want to help?" Rick asked him

"I do."

"Okay," Rick says and pulls out his gun cocking it, "Get on your knees."

* * *

"Look at me." Rick tells Dwight, "Why?"

"'Cause I want it stopped. I want Negan dead."

"So why don't you kill him?" I asked him

"Can't just be me. They're all Negan."

"That girl you murdered she had a name." Tara says to him walking over to him bending to look at him, "Her name was Denise, and she was a doctor. And she helped people."

"I wasn't aiming for her." Dwight tells her and Daryl moved past her pinning him to the wall holding a knife to him

"Do it. Do it." Tara said to Daryl

"You wanna end it this way you go ahead. I'm sorry. I am. I know you want to." Dwight pointed out to Daryl

"He could just be here to see if you were here." Rick says to him

"We can't trust him." Michonne adds

"He owned me. But not anymore. What I did, I was doing it for someone else. She just got away. So now I'm here. So are you because of her." Dwight tells Daryl

"Do it!" Tara pushes

"There's another choice." Dwight pleaded, I walked up to him slowly putting my hand on his arm and I feel him tense

"Daryl."

"Daryl, you knew her." Tara says to her

"Negan trusts me. We work together, we can stop him. You knew me then, and you know me now. You know I'm not lying. I'm not."

"Do it. Do it!" Tara demanded, Daryl still holds his knife at Dwight

"Daryl" I said and again and after a few minutes he puts his knife down and hands it to me and I put my hand on his shoulder

"They have Sasha, if she's even alive." Rosita tells us and we all look at her

"Why didn't you say something? He could be our only chance to get her back." Jesus says to her

"Because I don't trust him. But I trust Daryl."

"Negan's coming soon. Tomorrow. Three trucks probably. 20 Saviors and him." Dwight tells us and I sigh then Daryl grabs my hand, "I can slow them down, bring some trees down in the road, buy a little time for you guys to get ready. If you can take them out, that's where we start. You kill them, I'll radio back to the Sanctuary."

"The Sanctuary?" I asked him

"Where Negan lives. That's what they call it. I can radio back to them and say everything's okay. You drive the trucks back, and I can lead you right inside, and, with the right plan, we can wipe out the rest. Check to see if your friend's still alive. Then, we get the workers on our side, build our numbers up, and go from outpost to outpost and end this." He explained

"I hate to admit it but it's a good plan" I tell Rick

"Keep talking."

* * *

The gate as they shut after Dwight leaves, "We just started it-the whole thing." Rick tells Daryl as me, Michonne and Jesus stand behind them

"If he's lyin', I'm gonna kill him real slow. When this is done, I don't give a damn if he's sorry. I will kill that son of a bitch."

"If he's lying, this is already over." Rick says and walks away from him then I walked up to Daryl wrapping my arms around his waist from behind and he grabbed my hands

"I'm not gonna let them take you again" I told him and he faced me

"Phoebe..."

"No, and before you say it I am not hiding while you're out here. I can do this and I will do it. Please" I begged him and he kissed my head, "And yes I'll stay by you" I told him and he scoffed then kissed me.

"You're stubborn"

"That's why you love me" I tell him

"There's lots of things I love about you"

"Oh really now?" I asked him

"Mmhm"

I pulled away and grabbed his hand, "Come show me then" I tell him and we walked to our house. We may not have a bed anymore but I was finally able to sleep having him next to me.

* * *

"Rosita. Get into position. I'll signal you. And the wall's gonna hold?" Rick asked her from up on top of the gate

"It'll hold."

I look at Daryl as we hear vehicles approaching, he gave my hand a light squeeze, "I love you"

"I love you too" I told him and we looked forward

"All points are covered. Every contingency is already met. I come armed with two barrels of the truth. A test is upon you, and I'm giving out the cheat sheet." We hear Eugene tell us over a mega phone as he rides on the back of a truck to the gate followed by the others, "H-Hello. I come salved with the hope that it is my dropped knowledge that you heed. Options are zero to none. Compliance and fealty are your only escape. Bottom-lining it - You may thrive, or you may die. I sincerely wish for the former for everyone's sake. The jig is up and in full effect. Will you comply, Rick?"

"Where's Negan?" Rick asked him

"I'm Negan." _Asshole_

After hesitation Rick looked at Rosita signaling her, she presses the button for the explosives and I turn my head squinting my eyes but nothing happens, I look at Daryl then suddenly the Scavengers pull their guns on us and both me and Daryl raised ours and we hear a truck door open and shut.

"You ever hear the one about the stupid little prick named Rick who thought he knew shit but didn't know shit and got everyone he that gave a shit about killed? It's about you. You're all gonna wanna put your guns down now." Negan tells him

"No one drops anything."

"You push me, and you push me. And you push me, Rick. You just tried to blow us up, right? I mean, I get me, my people. But Eugene? He's one of yours. And after what he did - He stepped up. You people are animals. Universe gives you a sign, and you just shove your finger right up its ass." He says sticking his middle finger in the air, "Dwight, Simon, chop-chop," He tells them and they get on the truck Eugene is on and start undoing the tie downs on a coffin, "So, you don't like Eugene anymore. You guys gotta like Sasha." He points out and my heart stops, "I do, too. Got her right here packaged for your convenience, alive and well. Now, I brought her so I wouldn't have to kill all of you, and not killing all of you could get complicated. See, I know there's a lot of firepower left in there, Rick. So I'm gonna make this simple. I want all the guns you've managed to scrape up. Yep, I know about those, too. I want every last grain of lemonade you got left. I want a person of your own choosing for Lucille. Daryl - Ooh, I gotta get me my Daryl back. I see you." Negan says to Daryl then looked at me, "I might even take the misses too." He said and I clench my jaw as I feel anger radiate off of Daryl, "And I want the pool table and all the pool cues and chalk. And I want it now or Sasha dies, and then all of you. Probably. C'mon, Rick. Just because I brought her in a casket doesn't mean she has to leave in it." Rick stays quiet, "You know what? You suck ass, Rick. You really do. I don't want to have to kill her, but that's exactly what you're gonna make me do."

"Let me see her." Rick tells him

"Oh. All right. Just give me a second. I might have to get her up to speed. You can't hear shit inside this thing," He says and bangs his bat on the coffin, "Sash. You're not gonna believe this crap." He opens the coffin and suddenly Sasha comes out, but it's not Sasha anymore, "Holy goddamn!" Negan yells as they fall to the ground as she tries to eat him, Carl started shooting his gun at the Scavengers up top and both me and Daryl started taking out the ones around us then soon others joined in.

"Phoebe come on follow me!" Daryl tells me and we make our way out from behind the car and continue shooting

"Duck!" I yell at him and he does so as I shoot one of the Scavengers I saw coming towards him out of the corner of my eye. He shoots his gun killing another person then runs over taking theirs and we take cover shooting out when we could, "Cover me!" I tell him and he did so as I moved out from behind where we were taking cover and went over behind a house and I killed three more.

We walk down the street and I see Shiva attacking one of the Saviors then King Ezekiel and his people come in as well as my mom, "End these Saviors and their accomplices! Alexandria will not fall, not on this day!"

"Phalanx out, third group, now!" Maggie tells the people of the Hilltop as we follow her, Enid and Jesus

"Move up! Now we got your backs!" Daryl adds and we kill and kill a few more, I ended up splitting off from them and I feel someone knock my gun out of my hands, I look to see it was a Scavenger, I whipped around punching him in the face then kneed his gut but suddenly he grabbed my arm when I went to swing again and pushed me into a car, he holds up his gun up and was about to shoot when I hear a shot go off and I look at my mom, she walked over to me pulling me into a hug and we split up, I grabbed his gun and mine then met back up with Daryl

Suddenly I see a flare go up then the area gets covered in smoke and we all move behind the RV, "Their falling back"

"Eduardo, Bertie, between the houses- Cover the gate!" Maggie tells them and they leave, "Let's go." She says to Jesus, I look at Daryl squeezing his hand and went with them as we head out into the woods. As we walk through we hear a growling and raise our guns but we stop, Sasha was moving towards us, Jesus looked at me and Maggie then moves over taking her to the ground, tears sting my eyes and I look at Maggie who is barely trying to hold it in and I put my hand on her shoulder.

"You don't have to do it" I tell her and she looks at me

"I do" She says and pulls out her knife walking over then hesitated before killing her, she stands up and I walk over to her her and she pulls me into a hug and we both cried for our lost friend, our family member.

Once I got back I saw Daryl look at me and I walked over to him slowly but he rushed over to me pulling me into a hug and I cried into his shoulder, "It's ok I got you" He tells me and I continued to cry.

"Phoebe" I hear someone say and I look at Eric, "You might wanna come with me." He told me and I looked at him worried then followed him. We walked through the streets and we saw a couple of our people on the ground then I stopped and looked at one of them.

"No" I whispered and Eric put his hand on my shoulder but I pulled away and ran into the house, "Kayden!" I yelled looking all around then I stopped and walked over to him, "Kayden?" I asked sitting down next to him as he sat tucked in the corner of the living room

"Is my mommy dead?" He asked me and I sniffled

"Yeah, I'm sorry buddy" I told him and he moved forward wrapping his arms around me, "I'm so sorry buddy" I said rubbing his back

"What's gonna happen to me?" He asked and I looked at him

"I'm gonna make sure you are safe and cared for, okay?"

"Can I stay with you?" He asked and I pulled him into a hug

"Of course buddy. Only if you're sure sure though."

"I know you'll keep me safe"

We walked out of the house and I see Daryl walk over to us, "Can you give me a minute buddy? Go over to Eric" I tell him and he nodded running over to Eric

"That the boys mom?" Daryl asked me indicating to the covered up body and I nodded

"I um...he asked if he could stay with me, with us, I told him he could." I tell him and he looked back at Kayden, "He doesn't have anyone else Daryl," He looked at me, "I can't...I don't him to be alone" I said holding back tears and he pulled me to him

"We'll take care of him" He tells me and I smiled as he looked at me, "Together"

"How are you so perfect?" I asked him

"Not me, you. Always have been"

"You don't me Daryl Dixon" I joked and he kissed me

"Yes I do, Phoebe Dixon" I giggled and we walked over to the others and I introduced Kayden to Daryl who shook the boys hand. Kayden was right, I will keep him safe, and I know Daryl will too.

* * *

 **Maggie POV...**

"Do you think Sasha did that herself?" Rick asked me

"I don't know how, but I know she did."

"She gave us a did. You made the right decision to come." He says to me

"The decision was made a long time ago, before any of us knew each other, when we were all strangers who would have just passed each other on the street before the world ended. And now we mean everything to each other. You were in trouble. You were trapped. Glenn didn't know you, but he helped you. He put himself in danger for you. And that started it all-From Atlanta, to my daddy's farm, to the prison, to here, to this moment now not as strangers-as family because Glenn chose to be there for you that day a long time ago. That was the decision that changed everything. It started with both of you, and it just grew to all of us to sacrifice for each other to suffer and stand, to grieve, to give, to love, to live to fight for each other. Glenn made the decision, Rick. I was just following his lead."


	27. Chapter 27

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

 **A/N: I want to take an moment and thank everyone who is enjoying this story it means so much to me you have no idea. I wanna be able to write stories that capture the attention of fellow fans. Please continue to enjoy and also thank you to the people who have reviewed I love hearing what you think. Also I seem to have lost count, has anyone kept track on how many people Phoebe's killed? Let me know lol.**

"When I first met him Jesus said that my world was gonna get a whole lot bigger." Rick tells all of us as him, King Ezekiel and Maggie stand on the back of a truck, I was here and Daryl was with my mom and some other people, I didn't want to separate from him but he needed to do what he was doing without me and I had to argue with him to let me do this, "Well, we found that world. We found each other. That "bigger world" is ours by right. That we've come together for it, all of us it's that much more true-it's ours by right. Any person who would live in peace and fairness, who would find common ground it's their right, too. But those who use and take and kill to carve out the world and make it theirs alone-we end them. We don't celebrate it. We don't have shame about it, either. There's only one person who has to die and I will kill him myself. I will. I will. But if it's the others the others who prop him up, stand by his side, even those who just look the other way - so be it. Then we keep making the world bigger. Together."

"Together. Bound forever! To quote The Bard, "For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother." Ezekiel says putting his hand on Rick's shoulder, "For she today my sister." He does the same to Maggie and Shiva roars, I look over at her and smile.

"We've practiced. We've been through it over and over again. We all know the plan doesn't end this morning. That we may have to live in uncertainty for days, maybe more. That we have to keep our faith in each other. If we can hold on to that with everything we have, the future is ours. The world is ours." Maggie finishes and I smile at her.

"I don't want to wait for it anymore. You don't either." Rick tells us getting off the truck, "- Yeah, I know. So we don't have to wait for it. If we start tomorrow right now with everything we've beaten, everything we've endured, everything we've risen above, everything we've become If we start tomorrow right now no matter what comes next we've won. We've already won." He says and we all cheer

* * *

"You two up to this?" Rick asked me and Maggie as we stand in a field surrounded by the armored cars we made

"I got the Hilltop to stand against the Saviors. I need to be there. At least for the first part. They say you can wage war through the second trimester. I've been fighting since the farm. Can't stop now." She says and I wrap my arm around her shoulder and she smiled at me

"I'm with her, I've been fighting since the beginning, I'm not stopping now." I told him

"How about tomorrow?" Rick asked Maggie

"You been thinking about what that looks like?"

"Yes, I have. I don't know if I can wait for it." He says

"Just one more fight. And I'm gonna be there. At least for the first part." She told him and I nodded

"Me too"

"I'm told the Hilltop lost their doctor. An obstetrician, no less" Ezekiel mentioned, "We have a doctor in the Kingdom. A woman of talent. Join us."

"We'll get ours back." Jesus adds

"Yes, Jesus. Yes, you will. As sure as the day defeats the night. And on this day, we begin to reshape this world for both of your children" Ezekiel says to Maggie and I, "So let's get started."

I walked over to Aaron and Eric, they smiled at me, "No matter what I got your back" I told Eric, "Both of you." I looked at Aaron then they pulled me into a hug

"And we have yours." Eric told me, I loved these two, they were family, and I will protect them. Always

* * *

We drive up to the sanctuary by the place where they keep the walkers, parking our cars with the homemade armor facing the building, we got out and once we all lined up against the cars Maggie raised her hand signaling us to raise our guns then put her hand down and we started firing just a few single shots then we waited

"Well shit." I hear Negan say, "I'm sorry, I was in a meeting. I see you got your little mudflaps with you. So I'm not exactly feelin' a reason for us to try throwin' lead at each other. I care about my people. I don't want to just march them into the line of fire because I want play "my dick is bigger than yours". It is. We both know it. But I'm also comfortable enough to accept the fact if it wasn't. I'm certainly not gonna let my people die over that shit like you're about to. So, Rick, what the hell can I do for you?"

"Dwight." Rick says pointing at them, "Your name's Simon. You're Gavin. And you"

"Regina." She answered

"Rick, I'd feel remiss if-" Eugene started to say but Rick cut him off

"No. I know who you are. Listen, you five. The Saviors inside. All of you have a chance to survive here. To survive this. You all can live if you surrender. Can't guarantee it any time but now. Right now.

"So they surrender and you and your little piss patrol doesn't kill them. That sounds like a good deal! What about me, Rick?" Negan asked him

"I told you. Twice. You know what's going to happen."

"I do. I do know what's gonna happen. You don't. You have no idea the shit that's about to go down. Let me ask you something, Rick - Do you think you have the numbers for this fight? You don't. Simon?" Negan tells him and I peak through watching him go into the building then come out, with Gregory, Maggie turns and looks at Jesus

"Of course that's where he went." Jesus pointed out

"What do you have to say to the Rick and the piss patrol, Gregory?"

"The Hilltop stands with Negan and the Saviors. Any resident of the Hilltop who takes up arms or who supports this ultimatum against the Sanctuary or any of the Saviors, for that matter - they will no longer be welcome in the colony." He says and I clench my jaw

"And?" Negan asks

"Their families will be thrown out and will be left to fend for themselves."

"And?" Negan asked again

"Go home now. Or you won't have a home to go back to."

I see a lot of the residents look at Maggie, "You do what you need to do." She tells everyone

"All I have at the Hilltop are a bunch of books and an old lobster bib" Jesus says and I chuckle

"You heard the man. Go back to separating wheat and shit or whatever the hell it is you people do.

"Doesn't look like anyone's goin', does it?" Maggie asked Negan

"Hilltop stands with-"

"The Hilltop stands with Maggie!" Jesus says cutting Gregory off

"I feel like I invested a lot in you, and I am very, very disappointed." Simon tells Gregory backing him up then pushing him down the stairs then suddenly we hear and explosion in the distance.

"Sounds like shit is goin' down, Rick."

"You "lieutenants" you're gonna have to make up your minds." Rick told them

"Maybe we can take a time-out here-" Gavin started to say but Rick cut him off

"No. This has to happen now. This is the only way." Rick says and Negan stays quiet, "You're gonna make me count. "Okay. Okay. I'm counting. 10! 9! 8! 7!" He cocked his gun and started firing and we all followed shooting at the windows.

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

"It's started." Carol says as we hear gunfire in the distance where the others were, where my wife is. I didn't want her to go but she insisted, after everything that's happened I didn't want her getting hurt, or the baby.

"Yeah. It was always gonna be that way." I mentioned and we hear the group of walkers coming

"Pleasure doing business with you." Tara says and walked away

"Beat 'em." Morgan added leaving as well

"We will." Carol tells him then faced me and pulled me into a hug which I returned, "Be careful, not just for you but for Phoebe too." She tells me pulling away

"Shit, this is gonna be fun."

"No, it isn't." She tells me

"It's better than lettin' things be, though, right?" I asked her

"Yeah. It is."

I stood up off my back and pulled out the gun I took off of a guard opening the revolver part looking at the bullets then closed it. We can't have things continue, not for any of us, not Phoebe, our baby, or Kayden. Since we took him in and became responsible for him I've seen how much Phoebe cares about him and how amazing she is at being a mom for him, I loved that about her among other things. I did care about him too, it'll be good for us. That is the family I want to protect no matter what.

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

"Now!" Maggie yells and we start moving backwards getting in the cars and drive away

* * *

The next day we drove our armored vehicles up to another outpost after taking out the guards there, I was in a car with Eric and Aaron shooting my rifle out of a hole in the metal as we pulled up and stopped then we got out and continued shooting as they shot at us.

"Spread out! Watch for breaches! We keep 'em locked in, they got bigger problems than us." I tell everyone and they moved. I looked at Aaron who looked at Eric then continued shooting.

"I'm out" Eric told me and we quickly switched guns, he continued shooting while I reloaded the gun then started shooting as well

"We got some coming up on my right." I hear one of our people say

"Stay on them! Don't let them through! We pin them in, it takes care of itself! That's the plan!" Aaron told him, "Tobin move in!" Aaron says

"I can take them! Cover me!" Eric tells him

"No! Wait for Tobin!"

"There's no time!" Eric yelled and moved forward shooting a savior

"Go! I'll help cover you!" I tell him following him, we continued moving and shooting then moved behind a car we had far away from the others and hid behind it then moved to the hood and continued shooting.

* * *

As we continue shooting I see a few of our people go down and I look at Eric then Francine gets shot

"Francine!" Eric yelled and I looked out shooting then suddenly a bullet hits my shoulder

"Ahh!"

"Phoebe!" Eric yelled and I looked held it

"I'm okay. Check the beck of it" I told him and he moved my shirt, "Is there a hole?"

"Yeah"

"That's good" I said and he popped up and shot at people again, "Here take this" I handed him my gun then grabbed my knife cutting my sleeves off I held one to my shoulder and handed him the other, "Put this under my arm and tie it as tight as you can while I hold this" I tell him and he did so, "Ahhh!" I yelled as he tightened it

"I'm sorry"

"It's ok, Im good. Here" I reached for my gun and he handed it to me and we continued shooting

"We have to get you out of here!" He yells

"No! We need to do this I'm fine!" I said and continued shooting, "Get behind that truck!" I instructed and he moved while I stay where I was then I hear one of our cars start and back up to us and Aaron got out

"Phoebe!" He rushed over

"I'm ok get to Eric!" I told him and he moved past me

"You okay? You okay?" Aaron asked him

"I'm fine, but our people-Phoebe she needs..." He stopped and I looked at them, I saw blood on Eric's shirt, and it wasn't mine.

"Oh, God. No. No, no, no, no, no, no. No, no. Eric, Eric. Eric."

"Go I got you!" I yelled to him and he moved Eric away while I shot at the saviors

* * *

"Come on, let's stay together!" A savior yelled

"Falling back!" Another one says

"Hold fire! Hold fire! Morales wants us back inside!" One yelled _What?!_ I asked myself in shock and moved over to Tobin, "All force towards the courtyard door on my mark!"

"They stopped shooting." Tobin pointed out and we hear them shoot behind us

"No, they stopped shooting at us."

"Where's that backup?" A savior asked and we moved up and shot at them when a few shot back at us and we ducked

* * *

After it was done we got the injured loaded up to leave and get fixed up, I helped one of our people in the back of our truck and shut the tailgate then they drove off, "Phoebe!" I hear Daryl yell and he ran over to me looking at my shoulder, "What the hell happened?" He asked turning me to look at it

"Daryl I'm fine"

"You were shot!" He tells me and I grab his hand

"And there was an exit wound. Daryl," I put my hand on his face, "I'm fine.

"I shouldn't have let you come out here. What if..."

"Hey. Don't focus on what if's, that's why I wore the bullet proof vest, it doesn't cover shoulders." I tell him and he looked down, one of the Hilltop people found a bullet proof vest on a run and I chose to wear it, "See? I'm ok" I reassured him and he kissed me

"God I love you"

"I love you too" I tell him and I looked over his shoulder seeing Aaron walking over, but he was sad, I moved from Daryl and went over to him, "Aaron?" I asked and he sniffled then looked at me, "Where's Eric?" I asked trying to fight tears but I looked at his heart broken face, "No" I whispered as the tears fell out, "No!" I cried falling down but he caught me and went down with me holding me as we both cried.

* * *

I looked over at Aaron as he sat there, looking...lost, Daryl pulled me to him and I just looked forward, I felt lost too, Eric was like a brother to me, he took care of me after Daryl was taken, I saved him when the wolves came, I felt a piece of myself break away and I was hurting. Just then I hear a baby crying and looked to see Rick walking over with one.

"She was inside?" I asked him walking over

"She was. I have a - I have a stop to make, and Daryl's got his bike. Maybe she can go back with you or Scott..."

"She can go with me." Aaron says standing up, "I can, uh, t-take her to the Hilltop. She'll be safe there."

"Aaron. You sure?" Rick asked him

"Eric and I were gonna go up...We were gonna go there after and update Maggie. So...that's what I'm gonna do." He tells him with his voice breaking, "Please. I have to."

Rick walked over to him and handed the baby over, "Her name's Gracie.

"Hey, Gracie." He says to her and I look at him feeling my heart break even more then Daryl put his hands on my shoulders

"Go back home, be with Kayden." He tells me and I nodded then closed my eyes trying not to cry and he pulled me into a hug, "I love you"

"I love you too," I said and looked at him, "Please be safe" I begged and he kissed me

"I will"

* * *

"Mrs. Dixon, are you okay?" Kayden asked me walking into the infirmary while I sat in the bed as one of the residents fixed up my shoulder with my instructions. We may not have an actual doctor but I was slowly learning.

"Kayden how many times have I told you to call me Phoebe?"

"Sorry. Are you hurt?" He asked me

"Yeah but I'm okay. It's gonna heal like that" I snapped my fingers with a smile on my face, the person tending to my shoulder finished up, "Thanks" I tell them then grabbed Kayden's hand, "Come on buddy"

"Is Daryl okay?"

"Oh yeah he's fine, he'll be back later" I said as we walked down the street

"Then why do you look so sad?" He asked and I stopped then bent down to him

"You remember Eric?" I asked him and he nodded, "Well buddy he um...he went to a better place"

"Like my mommy?"

I put my hand on his head giving him a sad smile, "Yeah buddy." I tell him and he wrapped his little arms around me

"It'll be okay Phoebe" He says and I sniffled, this little boy is 11 but he has such a huge heart.

 **A/N: So I'm kind of running episodes in with each other and I will be doing it for the last chapter because it's the mid season finale. When the show premieres next month updates will be coming slower and slower but I'll try to keep it going.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Fear the Dead, Fight the Living**

 **Rick POV...**

"The plan is working. We're doing this. We're winning. We had a hard fight. We lost people, brave people who gave their lives to make sure we won. By the time it was over, there weren't any Saviors left standing."

 **Maggie POV...**

"We beat 'em, but things got complicated. Jesus took prisoners, brought 'em back home. We're holding 'em outside our gates for now, till we decide what to do. Until I decide."

 **Carol POV...**

"We took the outpost bit by bit. We thought we'd won. We were gathered up in the open when they ambushed us. It was over in seconds. Ezekiel, Jerry, and me, we're the only ones who made it back. Tell Sam that Shiva...Shiva sacrificed herself for Ezekiel."

 **Rick POV...**

"All of it, it's scarier than I thought it'd be, but we're doing it. We have to. Sasha was first, and now there's been more. The sacrifices are real. We need to make it right for them. The rest of the plan's still a go. We're moving on to the next step. I'm headed there now. The Sanctuary's still surrounded. They're trapped, cut off from their supplies. Every hour that goes by, we're makin' 'em weaker. The lookouts are all around the compound. They open a door, we fire. But if they open a door, seems like they'd have bigger problems. We meet at Sanctuary in two days to end this, to win it all. It's not like we haven't fought before. We fought every step of the way to this place, to this moment. The path has led us here, to who we are, to each other, to now. And we're so close. This can be our last fight."

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

I was sitting at the grave I dug for Eric just looking at it, I still felt so much pain, we've all lost so much since this all began but it never got easier. A part of me felt guilty, I told him and Aaron I would always have their back yet I didn't even protect him from being shot. I wanted to scream, cry, punch something but instead I just sat here feeling empty.

 **Daryl POV...**

"Hey," Tara says walking out of the infirmary, "You just get back?" She asked me

"Yeah. I was looking for you."

"I was looking for you, too. I wanted to tell you that you were right when you didn't kill Dwight. We wouldn't have gotten this far without him. The thing is, I know what you said. But after this, I'm gonna kill him. I want it to be me." She told me

"Maybe it could be you and me both. And maybe we don't got to wait so long."

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

"Good night buddy. Sweet dreams" I tell Kayden after tucking him into bed then I closed the door to his bedroom. I walked down the hall to mine and Daryl's and saw him sitting on the bed, "Hey you"

"Hi"

I walked over to him and knelt down in front of him, "You ok?" I asked and he looked at me

"Just thinking, about the plan"

"What about it?" I asked

He grabbed my hands and lifted me up then sat me on his leg wrapping his arms around me waist, "They ain't gonna surrender. I just know it, something else needs to be done"

"Like what?" I asked him

"I had an idea, but you're not gonna like it"

"Then don't tell me," I said and she looked at me confused, "As long as this plan involves you coming back, I don't want to know."

"I'll come back, I hate leaving you but..."

"Pregnancy doesn't really mix well with any of this. Like I said though, just come back"

"Always" He tells me and I kissed him again and I stood up then straddled his lap, "Kayden asleep?"

"He sure is, took three bedtime stories"

"You're good with him, it's kind of hot." He mentioned and I giggled

"Oh yeah?"

"Mmhmm" He mumbled then kissed me again deepening it as I started to unbutton his shirt trailing my nails down his chest then he flipped us then continued.

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

"Our people are gonna be at the Sanctuary soon, asking for their surrender. We're almost there." Rosita pointed out as we all stood there and I looked through a scope at the Sanctuary

"That's why we do it. We make it happen." I tell her walking over to them

"So we cover you with crossfire from the upper windows, you crash the truck into the walkers and through to the building." Michonne says repeating the plan I came up with

"Yep, crack it open, Savior buffet." Tara said

"You know the workers will make it away, up the stairs?" Rosita asked me

"They're on the other side of the building. They should make it."

"You sure?" She asked

"After we do this, their only choice is to give up." I tell her

"It's risky. They could see the truck comin'." Michonne pointed out

"There weren't any more weapons at the Saviors' warehouse, right? No more rockets for the RPG's. - We work with what we got." Tara says

"You got me." We turned and see Morgan walking towards us, "Other snipers, too. Saviors see you comin', we got you covered, whatever it takes. I want it done. I want them done."

"Good. So, we doin' this or what?" I asked everyone

"W-Why don't we just wait it out like we planned?" Rosita asked then scoffed, "Michonne's right. What you're talking about is risky. Things could go bad."

"The truck with the speakers almost took all those walkers away. It almost did go bad. Something else could." Tara tells her

"Even if it don't, we don't got the Kingdom fighters no more. I mean, if the Saviors want to put up a fight, we don't got the numbers to make 'em surrender." I added

"That's why Rick's talking to the Scavengers." Rosita said

"You got shot. They lied to us. - You... You believe 'em now?" Tara asked her

"I believe in Rick Grimes."

"I could've done something... sooner, to end this. I knew about those weapons at Oceanside, and I waited. I didn't do shit about it. With or without you, I'm not letting that happen again." Tara mentioned to her

"Then it's without me. I'm out." Rosita says and walked away

"We got some cars parked near the east-side lookout. You can take one and go home." Morgan tells her as she walked over by him

"You staying? You good with all this?" Rosita asked Michonne

"I helped get this started. Got to see it through."

"You think it's easier to come out here and risk than to stay back there and wait. And I get it... I used to believe that, too. Thing is sometimes, you just have to wait. Sometimes you don't get to know. I just wish it didn't take seeing Sasha walk out of that coffin to realize it." Rosita says and walked away

"Come on. Let's go." I tell them and got inside the truck, I needed to do this. It was the only way my family could be safe, Rick and his family, everyone. I was doing this for Phoebe, our baby, and Kayden

* * *

 _"Hey, cut that engine. Any closer, you'll draw walkers from the yard."_ Morgan tells me over the radio as we got near the Sanctuary so I stopped and turned it off

"Here." I handed Tara the scope after looking through it

 _"You take fire from the windows, we fire back."_ Morgan says

"Come on. There's a spot for cover by the chutes." Tara tells Michonne and gets out

"You up for this?" I asked Michonne

"I came here 'cause I wanted to see things for myself. I wanted to know that things were gonna work. But you know what? I don't get to know that. None of us do. What I do know is that things are working now. So maybe...we just need to trust that things are gonna keep working, because this...what we're about to do...it's not worth risking us."

"It is for me. Just is." I tell her

"I hope it works. I-I really, really do, but I-I can't do it. I just can't."

"Then you shouldn't." I said

"Just be careful, ok? Phoebe needs you, your family needs you. Be safe for them" She says to me and gets out. Then Tara walked over to my window

"We got Morgan and the snipers. We can do this." She tells me

"Yeah. We will."

* * *

I started up the truck and put it into drive, "Now!" I said over the walkie and drove forward as gun shots fired at me. As I got closer I put the brick I had on the gas pedal then opened the door and rolled out getting up and running behind a car

 _"Daryl, you're clear to the south. You and Tara should head home"_ Morgan told me over the radio and I ran over to Tara and we took off.

* * *

 **Phoebe POV...**

"Are you out of your mind?" I asked Daryl when him and Tara got back and he told me what they did, "Why-why would you do something like that?"

"Because I want this done" He told me and I looked at him

"I want it done too, I want every single one of those saviors dead even if I have to kill them myself, I want Negan to suffer and die for killing our friends. But I don't want you risking your life for this Daryl I can't...I can't..."

"Hey," He walked over to me and pulled me into a hug, "I told you, I'm not gonna leave you, ever again." He says and moved my chin up to look at him, "I love you Phoebe, you've made me a better man and there is nothing I wouldn't do for you. I'm sorry I scared you. Ok?"

I sighed and buried my face in his chest, "I love you too. Don't scare me again."

"I won't"

* * *

"Hey." Michonne says to us walking over from Judith

"Hi."

"I'm glad you came back. It's better we go out there together." She says to Daryl

"It worked. We'll roll in, tell them to give up. They're gonna give up." He said and looked at me

"I'm sorry. I couldn't."

"Don't be. It worked." He says and walked away

"How are you doing?" Michonne asked me

"I'm ok I guess, still can't...I feel so useless because I'm pregnant and I can't help like I want to, I mean I could but Daryl won't let me." I chuckled and she pulled me into a hug

"You're not useless, you may be pregnant but you are still helpful. No matter what"

"Thanks Michonne." I said

* * *

"Carl." Michonne called to him as we walked over, "We've been lookin' for you. We're about ready to head out. What are you doing?" She asked him

"I'm helping someone. A traveler."

"In the sewer?" I asked him. He was about to say something but then we hear a banging noise at the gates

"You may be wondering why the hell your lookouts didn't sound the alarm." We hear Negan say over a speaker and my heart sank as Carl moved forward, "See, we are polite. I mean, I don't know when they're gonna wake up from that kinda shot, but they should wake up. So let's just cut through the cow shit - you lose. It's over. So you're gonna line up in front of your little houses, and you're gonna work up some apologies, and then the person with the lamest one is gonna get killed. Then I kill Rick in front of everybody, and we move on. You have three - count 'em, three minutes to open this gate, or we start bombing the shit out of you!"

"They got out." Michonne says and we look at each other as Negan whistled

"Come on." Carl told us, but me and Michonne stood there not being able to move, "Michonne, Phoebe. Come on!" He says and we ran

"Kayden!" I yelled running over to him

"Is the bad man here?" He asked me and I picked him up

"Yeah buddy. We gotta go"

* * *

"You need to make it look like we're escaping out back. Get to the woods, halfway to the quarry, and cut the lights. Get enough of a lead on them, hit them, and get away on foot. You know where we'll be. Just have to get the guns, get everyone else here, and we'll meet you there." Carl told everyone as he packed up smoke bombs into a bag and I held Daryl's hand while holding Kayden

"Two minutes, people! Dig deep. I want these apologies to be memorable. Bonus points for creativity. Work up a poem, sing a song. I love that shit.

"Get going. There's gonna people in the infirmary. They're gonna need your help." Carl told Tobin and a couple others then they ran off

"Look, we got guns. We can fight them." Tara pointed out

"We will, but not now. Carl's right." Rosita told her

"Carl, we can't just let them have this place." Michonne tells him

"We can. All you need to do is survive tonight. This is my show. You said it. This is my plan, and you're gonna do it. You're all gonna do it. So let's go!" Carl told us and Daryl tugged on my hand making us move.

"One minute! One minute!"

* * *

I sat in the seat of the garbage truck with Daryl who reached his arm out the window and signaled the others to go and we drove forward smashing through a wall.

* * *

"They didn't get out because of what we did with the truck." Tara tells Daryl as he walked over to us

"Even if they did, it was just a mistake. And I made one, too. If I hadn't gone to the Sanctuary to kill Negan, maybe Sasha would still be alive. Maybe she would've gone herself. Maybe everything would've ended up going exactly the same way. I didn't want you guys to do it, but maybe you needed to. Maybe you needed to play things out to figure shit out." Rosita says and I put my hand on her shoulder

"Where the hell are they?" Michonne asked and we hear vehicles approaching. Daryl pops open a smoke bomb then threw it onto the road. The cars get closer and eventually stop

"Now!" Daryl yelled and we start firing our guns at the cars. A few saviors get out and some fire back then I hear a gun go off from behind the cars shooting at the remaining saviors.

* * *

"It's over!" I hear Dwight yell from behind the car and we moved out of the trees over to him raising our guns, "I made sure you guys could get out the back. I drove the convoy right up to the roadblock. I knew what it was. I can't go back. One of 'em got away. She's gonna tell them."

"How'd they get out? Was it what I did?" Daryl asked him

"Eugene. I can still help you. I know how they work, how Negan thinks. I want you to win. I want Negan to die. And we can settle up after."

Daryl looked at him then moved to Dwight reaching behind him taking his vest off of him and walked away, "We need to get back - now." Michonne tells us walking over with some guns, Rosita looked at me then helped Dwight up.

* * *

Daryl moved the cover to a man hole as we stood there hearing explosions go off inside our home. Tara goes in after Daryl, then Rosita, I stood there with Michonne and Dwight.

"I'm sorry," Dwight tells us, "I am"

I looked at Michonne and she looked at me then ran towards the houses, "Michonne!" I quietly yelled moving to go after her but Dwight held me back, "No! Michonne!" I struggled against Dwight but he moved me to the manhole forcing me in then I feel someone grab me as I got to the bottom and I looked at Daryl then Dwight followed me after closing the cover.

* * *

"Kayden?" I asked looking around, "Kayden?"

"Here" He says and I see him sitting with Judith as the others all sat around inside the sewers. I rushed over to him pulling him into a hug then I hugged Judith

"Are you okay?" I asked him

"I'm ok. Are you?"

"I will be buddy" I tell him then looked over at a man I never seen before sitting at the end, "Who are you?" I asked him then Carl came down the sewer, "Carl" I hugged him then looked at him, "What's wrong?"

* * *

After a while I hear footsteps coming towards us and I see Rick and Michonne coming towards us looking around as Daryl sat with Judith and I finished patching up Dwight's gun shot wound. I see Rick look at the man we met, "I brought him here. That's how it happened." Carl told Rick as he sat against the wall and they moved to him.

Rick knelt down to Carl who lifted his shirt and showed him, the walker bite. Michonne goes down in front of him and I put my hand over my mouth feeling Daryl wrap his arms around me as I cried into his shoulder.

 **A/N: Damn it here come the tears again, I will never be able to watch that or future episodes without getting my heart stabbed. Anyways, this is it for now until February and I'll try to update as much as possible but I have this one and another story that I am gonna be updating for with the premiere. Thank you all who are enjoying this story it means a lot.**


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